Product classification is a crucial task in international trade, as compliance regulations are verified and taxes and duties are applied based on product categories. Manual classification of products is time-consuming and error-prone, and the sheer volume of products imported and exported renders the manual process infeasible. Consequently, e-commerce platforms and enterprises involved in international trade have turned to automatic product classification using machine learning. However, current approaches do not consider the real-world challenges associated with product classification, such as very abbreviated and incomplete product descriptions. In addition, recent advancements in generative Large Language Models (LLMs) and their reasoning capabilities are mainly untapped in product classification and e-commerce. In this research, we explore the real-life challenges of industrial classification and we propose data perturbations that allow for realistic data simulation. Furthermore, we employ LLM-based product classification to improve the robustness of the prediction in presence of incomplete data. Our research shows that LLMs with in-context learning outperform the supervised approaches in the clean-data scenario. Additionally, we illustrate that LLMs are significantly more robust than the supervised approaches when data attacks are present.

The World Customs Organization (WCO) recently conducted a BACUDA Data Analytics workshop for the Maldives Customs Service with 41 participants from the 30th of January to the 1st of February in Male, Maldives. The mission was financed by the Customs Cooperation Fund of Korea (CCF-Korea) and took place under the WCO's BACUDA initiative, the WCO capacity building project on Data Analytics. WCO experts and two BACUDA Scholarship graduates led the workshop. They delivered various sessions to equip the customs officials with the latest data analytics tools and techniques. One of the key highlights of the workshop was a hands-on session where the participants learned how to use Python language to work with the AI HS algorithm developed through the BACUDA project.

Try here the demonstration tool for automatically classifying goods with their commercial descriptions and experience how AI could assist core Customs operations. As the awareness among Customs agencies about the importance and the interest in its application grows, the BACUDA expert team with the support of CCF-Korea continues to deliver state of the art methods and training material to meet the demands of Members. Complementing the development of the neural network model to support the classification of goods in Harmonized System, an online advanced Data Analytics course including a practical module on the HS recommendation algorithm was published on CLiKC!, the WCO e-learning platform. The BACUDA team of experts collaborated on the development of an AI model to recommend HS codes, which aims to support commodity classification for Customs officials by using historical data to predict HS codes upon the entry of the commercial descriptions of goods. An accompanying tool provides a demonstration on the functions which the model offers.

The event attracted more than 700 attendees and provided insights into how advanced technologies can help Customs administrations facilitate the flow of goods across borders. The publication titled, "The role of advanced technologies in cross-border trade: A customs perspective" provides the current state of play and sheds light on the opportunities and challenges Customs face when deploying these technologies. The publication outlines the key findings of WCO's 2021 Annual Consolidated Survey and its results on Customs' use of advanced technologies such as blockchain, the internet of things, data analytics and artificial intelligence to facilitate trade and enhance safety, security and fair revenue collection. The joint publication highlights the benefits that can result from the adoption of these advanced technologies, such as enhanced transparency of procedures, sharing of information amongst all relevant stakeholders in real time, better risk management, and improved data quality, leading to greater efficiency in Customs processes and procedures. In his remarks, WCO Deputy Secretary General Ricardo Treviño Chapa said, "Technologies will assist implementation of international trade facilitation rules and standards, such as the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. We are therefore delighted to be partnering with the WTO, to ensure that our work in assisting our Members' digital transformation journeys is complementary, that we bring all relevant partners to the same table, and that we avoid duplication."