Armonizado

Armonizado is the Spanish term for the Harmonized System (HS) of designation and coding of goods, an internationally standardized method for classifying traded products. It provides a common framework used by governments, businesses, and international organizations to describe and categorize goods for customs duties, statistics, and policy purposes.

The HS is maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and serves as the basis for most of the world’s tariff schedules and trade data. It assigns six-digit codes to goods, with the first two digits identifying chapters, the next two digits headings, and the final two digits subheadings. The system is organized into sections and chapters and is periodically revised to reflect changes in technology and commerce. Its widespread adoption helps ensure consistency in product classification across borders, supporting clearer tariffs, rules of origin, and trade liberalization efforts.

National and regional authorities commonly extend the HS with additional digits to create more granular tariff schedules tailored to domestic policies. For example, the European Union uses an eight-digit code known as the Combined Nomenclature (CN), while the United States employs a ten-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). These extensions enable more precise duties, quotas, and statistics without altering the global six-digit HS framework.

In practice, the Armonizado underlies many aspects of international trade, including customs clearance, export documentation, and trade negotiations. It also supports the development of trade statistics and policy analysis. In Spanish-speaking contexts, the term emphasizes the standardized, cross-border approach to classifying goods that facilitates global commerce. See also: Harmonized System; World Customs Organization; Combined Nomenclature.