Why are two different classifications used for imports and exports?
All of the imports and export commodity classification codes used by the United States are based on the Harmonized Schedule (HS). There are differences in the level of commodity detail that the United States obtains for imports and exports. Generally, much more detail is collected on import commodities-up to the 10-digit level. Export codes (which the United States calls Schedule B) are administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. Import codes are administered by the U.S. International Trade Commission (which is called the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated or TSUSA). The Schedule B codes for exports and the TSUSA codes for imports are both based on the international Harmonized Schedule. Therefore, the import and export codes are essentially the same at the 2-digit level.
