On 21 January 2026, the World Customs Organization (WCO) advised that the Harmonised System (HS) 2028 amendments have now been accepted, marking a major milestone in the evolution of the HS, the international classification of goods that gives every traded product a standardised code, facilitating the implementation of trade regulations and serving as the backbone of international trade statistics.
The amendments comprise 299 sets of changes, resulting in a nomenclature of 1,229 headings and 5,852 subheadings. Compared with the HS 2022 edition, six new headings and 428 new subheadings have been created, while five headings and 172 subheadings have been deleted to reflect evolving trade patterns, technological progress and growing regulatory needs.
Those changes reflect critical, urgent or emerging topics, such as health emergency preparation, the fight against epidemics, and environmental pollution.
Key updates to the HS 2028
Public health is a central focus of HS 2028. New subheadings enhance the visibility of essential supplies used in health emergencies, including ambulances, personal protective equipment, medical ventilators and diagnostic devices. These changes respond to lessons learned from recent global health crises. They will facilitate the application of emergency trade measures and the preparation of preparedness plans.
HS 2028 also introduces major structural changes for vaccines, reclassifying products previously covered by tariff heading 30.02 into two new tariff headings: tariff heading 30.07 for vaccines for human medicine, with disease-based subheadings, and tariff heading 30.08 for other vaccines, including veterinary vaccines. This new structure improves transparency of vaccine trade flows and supports global immunisation programmes, particularly in emergencies.
Another significant development is the creation of a new tariff heading 21.07 for dietary supplements, accompanied by new legal notes. This amendment resolves long-standing classification challenges at the interface between food and pharmaceutical products, strengthens legal certainty and improves the quality of trade statistics in a rapidly expanding market.
Environmental protection features prominently in HS 2028. The classification of plastic waste has been restructured to align with the Basel Convention, introducing new subheadings that distinguish hazardous plastic waste, plastic waste subject to prior informed consent procedures and other plastic waste. In addition, HS 2028 improves transparency in trade in plastic products, including single-use items, through new subheadings and legal clarifications that support more consistent classification, better trade data and policies to reduce plastic pollution and promote circular economy approaches.
Beyond these key areas, the HS 2028 amendments also address societal protection, enforcement priorities and technological change, including improvements for goods controlled under international conventions, enhanced visibility for certain environmentally relevant products and targeted clarifications to HS provisions to ensure more uniform interpretation and application.
Next steps
With the HS 2028 amendments now accepted, the remaining two-year implementation period provides essential time for the WCO and its members to prepare for entry into force on 01 January 2028, including the development of the Correlation Tables, updates to HS tools and publications, capacity-building activities and national implementation measures. These efforts will support a smooth transition and the effective, uniform application of HS 2028 worldwide.
In summary
Amendments effective from 1 January 2028
The HS 2028 edition, the eighth edition of the Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature, will enter into force on 01 January 2028. The HS 2028 amendments are the outcome of the 7th HS Review Cycle, reflecting six years of in-depth technical discussions and studies undertaken within the WCO. While the HS is normally reviewed on a five-year cycle, the 7th Review Cycle was exceptionally extended to six years, from July 2019 to June 2025, to conclude discussions affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and to finalise the amendments comprehensively.
Major changes
The HS underpins Customs tariffs and international trade statistics worldwide. The HS 2028 amendments comprise 299 sets of amendments, resulting in the nomenclature of 1,229 headings and 5,852 subheadings. Compared with the HS 2022 edition, six new headings and 428 new subheadings have been created, while five headings and 172 subheadings have been deleted, to reflect evolving trade patterns, technological developments and the growing role of the HS in supporting regulatory and policy objectives.
Public health is a central theme of HS 2028. New subheadings enhance the visibility of essential supplies used in health emergencies, including ambulances, personal protective equipment, medical ventilators, and diagnostic and monitoring devices. These changes respond to challenges encountered during recent global health crises. They will facilitate the implementation of emergency trade measures, such as simplified procedures, expedited clearance and duty relief, while improving preparedness and response planning.
HS 2028 introduces major changes for vaccines by reclassifying products currently covered by tariff heading 30.02 into two new headings: tariff heading 30.07 for vaccines for human medicine, with detailed subheadings identifying different types of vaccines, based on the diseases they target and, where relevant, combinations of diseases, and tariff heading 30.08 for other vaccines, including veterinary vaccines. This enhanced structure improves transparency of vaccine trade flows, supports global immunisation programmes and facilitates timely access to vaccines, particularly in emergencies.
Another important development is the creation of a new tariff heading 21.07 for dietary supplements, with accompanying new legal notes, to address long-standing classification challenges at the interface between food and pharmaceutical products. The new heading provides a clear and uniform classification framework, strengthening legal certainty, supporting regulatory controls by health and consumer protection authorities and improving the quality of international trade statistics in a rapidly expanding market segment.
Environmental protection features prominently in the HS 2028 amendments. Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing global environmental challenges. To better align HS classifications with the categories of plastic waste established under the Basel Convention, HS 2028 restructures heading 39.15 into new subheadings that differentiate hazardous plastic waste, PIC-controlled plastic waste, and other plastic waste. These changes strengthen the ability of Customs administrations to monitor and control transboundary movements of plastic waste, support enforcement of international environmental obligations and reduce compliance costs for legitimate trade by providing clearer links between HS codes and Basel Convention entries.
HS 2028 improves transparency in the trade of plastic products, including certain single-use plastic goods, by introducing new subheadings and clarifications across the nomenclature for a wide range of articles commonly associated with pollution, such as drinking straws, packaging articles (including boxes, bottles and bags), tableware and kitchenware, gloves, cotton buds with plastic sticks, balloons, and certain fishing and netting products. The explicit introduction of the concept of “single-use” through a new legal Note 3 to Chapter 39 enables more consistent classification, more accurate data collection and more effective implementation of national and international policies aimed at reducing plastic pollution, promoting circular economy approaches and encouraging sustainable alternatives.
In addition to the major areas highlighted above, the HS 2028 amendments also include a range of other important updates aimed at protecting society, supporting environmental objectives, reflecting evolving trade practices, and improving the quality of trade data. These updates include measures to support the fight against illicit activities, refinements to the classification of goods subject to controls under various international conventions, and enhanced visibility for certain environmentally relevant products and recycling-related equipment. The amendments further reflect technological progress and incorporate targeted clarifications to HS provisions to ensure more uniform interpretation and application of the nomenclature.
Implementation and next steps
With the HS 2028 amendments now accepted, the remaining two-year period provides essential time for the WCO and its members to prepare for their entry into force on 01 January 2028. During this period, the WCO will focus on developing correlation tables between the HS 2022 and HS 2028 editions, updating the HS Explanatory Notes and other WCO tools and publications, and providing technical assistance to members, including capacity-building activities to support implementation of the new HS edition. At the national level, members will undertake the necessary legislative processes, update IT systems, publications and procedures, and deliver training to Customs officials, other government agencies and the trade. These coordinated efforts are critical to ensuring a smooth transition to HS 2028 and its uniform and effective application worldwide.
The HS Documentation is accessible at: