WCO World Customs Organization : Burundi becomes the 155th Contracting Party to the Harmonized System Convention

Brussels, 19 January 2017

Press release

On 18 January 2017, Burundi deposited with the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization its instrument of accession to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System).

Considering that more than 98 % of international merchandise trade is classified in terms of the Harmonized System, the World Customs Organization is pleased to welcome Burundi as the 155th Contracting Party to the Harmonized System Convention and looks forward to its active participation with respect to Harmonized System matters.

Burundi has been a Member of the World Customs Organization since 20 October 1964. Burundi is a landlocked country in East Africa, bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. The country's principal export commodities are coffee, tea, sugar, cotton and hides. The country's principal import commodities are capital goods, petroleum products and foodstuffs.

The Harmonized System Convention will enter into force in Burundi on 1 January 2019, unless Burundi decides to specify an earlier date.