Policy Schemes and Trade in Dairy Products | Trade in Milk and Dairy Products, International Standards: Harmonized Systems

With the growing importance of trade in the aftermath of World War II, the need of harmonization of customs codes became more and more important. This has led to the establishment of the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Harmonized System. The aim of the effort was to secure the same treatment of goods irrespective of their origin in relation to collection of tariffs. Only in this way can the member states of the WCO collect tariffs on a uniform basis, and the traders can be assured an equal treatment that does not hamper competition. Traditional and very different tariff principles have therefore been harmonized into a simple numeric system, the six-digit Harmonized System, and an international organization has been established to take care of the development of the principles and settle disputes between adhering parties, the Harmonized System Committee. This principle furthermore serves as a basis for building more complex tariff systems according to the needs of the individual member state. These needs can be related to tariffs, statistics, or even as in the case of the European Union, granting of refunds. As evidenced by this article covering dairy products, the specific needs vary heavily according to the traditional importance of dairy production in the importing country and develop over the years with the innovation in the global dairy industry.