World Customs Organization
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The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization that helps member states communicate and co-operate on customs issues. It was established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council; it adopted its current name in 1994.
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, it develops agreed rules on customs procedures and provides advice and assistance to customs services. It has established an international standard classification of commodities called the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which is used to classify goods for tariff purposes the application of tariffs. The WCO has 169 members; see World Customs Organization member states. The current Secretary General is Michel Danet.
The WCO does not deal with tariff and trade disputes; these issues fall under the jurisdiction of the World Trade Organization.
On 1 July 2006 Tapani Erling from Finland was elected chairman of the council of the organisation, replacing Pravin Gordhan from South Africa, who had held the chair for the past five years. [link]
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