[Português]
Brussels, 23 May 2013
Press release
On 23 May 2013, Guinea-Bissau 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 Guinea-Bissau as the 147th Contracting Party to the Harmonized System Convention and looks forward to Guinea-Bissau active participation with respect to Harmonized System matters.
Guinea-Bissauhas been a Member of the World Customs Organization since 19 August 2010. Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. Its principal export commodities are fish, shrimp; cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernel and sawn lumber. The country’s principal import commodities are foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment and petroleum products.
The Harmonized System Convention will enter into force in Guinea-Bissau on 1 January 2015, unless Guinea-Bissau decides to specify an earlier date.