BUS 301 - International Marketing

This page of the BUS 301 research guide provides means to locate information on tariffs and other trade barriers, and trade information generally. After reviewing this guide, you should understand more about how and where to locate trade information.

You often need to know the HS number of a product you're investigating to find trade information about it. HS numbers are global and used for products exchanged between countries.

• HS numbers are six-digit codes used to categorize products that are traded between countries.
• They tend to focus on the raw materials that make up a product.
• You will need HS numbers to determine tariff and license requirements for your product.
• The United States assigns four additional digits to all HS numbers to create 10-digit Schedule B numbers
• HS numbers are the same as Schedule B numbers for the first six digits

Feel free to explore the other tariff resources as well. This box walks you through finding tariff info for a product in different countries using World Trade Organization (WTO) Tariff Data's Tariff Download feature.

1. Go to WTO Tariff Data at the link below. Notice the information on the page, including the Jargon Buster with definitions down the page on the right.

2. Select Tariff Download Facility.

3. Click Next. You click Next to move through this tool.

4. Under Reporters, select the countries you're interested in. You can select multiple countries.

5. Under Products, you can either search for the HS number(s) of your product, or select progressively more specific HS numbers. You can select multiple HS numbers.

6. Click Next.

7. Select the format for your download file, and save it. Note that AV means ad valorem rates which are charged as a percentage; bound rates are a ceiling which may be applied. Definitions are on the main WTO tariff data page.

The image below shows what a file downloaded from the WTO Tariff Download Facility can look like.