U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Division Understanding Foreign Trade Data April 23, 2009.

transcript

U.S. Census BureauForeign Trade Division

Understanding Foreign Trade Data

April 23, 2009

U.S. Census Bureau

Overview of Imports and Exports

Carol Aristone

Commodity Analysis Branch

Carol.Ann.Aristone@census.gov

What do the statistics measure?

The physical movement of goods between:• United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands• Foreign countries.

Coverage

Movement of goods into & out of:

• U.S. Customs Territory• U.S. Virgin Islands• Bonded Warehouses• Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs)

Coverage

• Goods not included:• U.S. trade with U.S. territories

• Trade between U.S. territories

• Trade between foreign countries and U.S. territories (other than PR and VI)

• In transit merchandise through the U.S.

What’s not Covered in Statistics? • Monetary gold & silver • U.S. government to U. S. government • Imports of articles repaired under warranty• Intangibles • Personal and household effects• Low valued transactions

The Harmonized System (HS)

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. Annotated for Statistical Reporting Purposes (HTSUSA)

Statistical Classification of Domestic and Foreign Commodities Exported from the U.S. (Schedule B)

The HS System17,000+ HTSUSA & 8,000+ Schedule B codes

• Periodically revised

• Structure:• 2 digit Chapter

• 4 digit Heading

• 6 digit sub heading

• 8 digit legal

• 10 digit statistical

The HS System

What is the difference?Export codes (Schedule B) are maintained by the U.S.

Census Bureau.

Import codes are administered by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC).

Import Codes CAN be used to classify Exports, but Exports codes CAN NOT be used to classify goods for import (Imports has a lot more detail!!)

Changes to the HTSUSA & Schedule B

Changes occur three different ways:

• WCO changes affect the HS (4 or 6 digit) level

• Legislation – affects the legal (8-digit) level

• Imports only

• 484(f) committee – affects the statistical (10-digit) level

Exports

Related vs. Non-related

Statistics cover the physical movement of goods, regardless of if item is sold

When a U.S. manufacturer exports merchandise to their company in France or to a non-related purchaser in Russia, both are counted as trade

Valuation

F.A.S. Export Value (free alongside ship)• Value of export at port based on transaction

price, including inland freight, insurance other charges incurred (before loaded)

• Excludes international freight, cost of loading merchandise and any other charges/costs beyond port of export

Leases

If merchandise exported for <12 months • Non-statistical

Consignment - Temp. lease with option to buy• Statistical• Examples: artwork or aircraft

Repairs – Exports Exporting items for repair

• Report Ch. 1-97 HS number of item• Non-statistical• AES export information code TR

(temporary export for repair)

Exporting items repaired in U.S. • Report HS 9801 and value of repair• Statistical

Imports

Foreign Trade Zones – Imports• Duties not required until goods

withdrawn for consumption

• Importer has choice to pay at the rate of the original foreign materials or the finished product

• Can result in $3,000 new car

• No duty if re-exported to foreign country

Bonded Warehouses – Imports

Duty payment deferred

No duty if re-exported to foreign countries

General vs. Consumption

General Imports – measures flow of goods across U.S. border

• Imports for direct consumption

• Bonded warehouse entries and FTZ admissions

• Most widely used measure of imports

General vs. Consumption (cont.)

Imports for Consumption – goods cleared through Customs

• Imports for direct consumption

• Bonded warehouse and FTZ withdrawals

Valuation

Customs Value• Generally, price actually paid excluding:

• Duties• Freight • Insurance and other charges

• Relationship b/w parties should not influence value

Valuation (cont.)

CIF (cost, insurance, freight)

• CIF = Customs Value + Import Charges

• Excludes U.S. import duties

Valuation (cont.)

Dutiable Value• Customs value of foreign goods subject to

duty• Where merchandise is a combination of

U.S. and foreign goods, duty is applied only to the foreign value added

Valuation (cont.)

To determine the dutiable value of a combination of U.S. and foreign goods:

• Example: 9802 provision• U.S. value is included in statistics

Value is total of domestic + foreign values

• U.S. Goods indicators show that a portion of the import is domestic materials

• Publication IM146A

Valuation (cont.)

Duty• Collected by CBP• FTD generally uses duty as reported to

Country Sub-Codes (CSC)

Indicates a special program allowing for free or reduced duty

• Examples: GSP, US-Chile Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA

• CSC used:• 00 = no special programs claimed• CA = Goods marked for Canada (NAFTA)• MX = Goods marked for Mexico (NAFTA)• Full list available on our website

Special Provisions

Chapter 98 & 99 for National use• Ch 98 - duty free/reduction • Ch 99 - legislation, executive and

administrative actions

Special Provisions (cont.)

9801 - U.S. goods exported and returned not advanced or improved• U.S. origin• Previously exported from U.S.

9802 – Goods with components of U.S. origin• U.S. goods assembled abroad• Importers deduct value of U.S. goods from

total Customs value

Special Provisions (cont.)Dual Reporting of Codes

Report 10-digit statistical reporting number• Chapter 1-97• Unit of Quantity

Followed by special provision • Chapter 98

9817.85.01 • Prototypes for development, testing, evaluation• Free

8422.11.0000• Dishwasher, household• 2.4%

8422.19.0000• Dishwasher, other• Free

Chapter 99 • Quotas• Additional duties• Temporary reductions

• Footnote 189 - See headings 9902.01.19, 9902.02.12, 9902.12.54, etc.

• Reduced or duty free rates • 9902.01.19 Vinclozolin• Report 9902.01.19 - 2934.99.1200

Rate Provision (RP) codes

• RP codes indicate free or dutiable status

• Used in conjunction with goods imported using Ch. 98 or 99 code

• RP code can relate back to Ch. 98 or 99

• Assigned by FTD

Rate Provisions (cont.)Examples of RP codes:

• RP 17 = Free as articles imported for the handicapped. Imported under HTS subheadings 9817.00.92, 9817.00.94 & 9817.00.96

• RP 69 = Dutiable at rate prescribed in Rate of Duty columns of HTS Ch. 99. Duty reported

• Full list available on our website

Repairs – ImportsImporting repaired item

• Report Ch. 98 number and value of repair• If under warranty – non-statistical• If Non-warranty – statistical

Also report Ch. 1-97 HS in order to determine duty

Importing item for repair• Temporary imports

Internet References

FTD• http://www.census.gov/trade

Guide to Foreign Trade Statistics• http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/

guide/index.html

Internet References (cont.)

Schedule B• http://www.census.gov/scheduleb

HTSUSA• http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/index.htm

Internet References (cont.)

CSC• http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/

reference/codes/csc.html

RP• http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/

reference/codes/rp.html

Any Questions?

Processing and Editing

April 23, 2009

Rachelle J. Reeder

Methods Research and Quality Assurance

Rachelle.J.Reeder@census.gov

Introduction

• The Foreign Trade Division processes over 5 million import and export transactions a month.

• Publish the official merchandise trade statistics on a monthly basis.

• Ensure that published statistics are accurate.• Published data may appear different than

what can be seen on the electronic systems.

Topics

• Sources of Data• Processing• Data Categories• Differences

– Differences between the ACE Portal and Published Statistics.

Sources of Import Data

Imports• The Automated Commercial System (ACS)• E214 Program• Automated Foreign Trade Zone Reporting

Program (AFTZRP)• Paper Documents• Canadian Gas and Electricity• Estimates

Sources of Import Data Percent of Number of

Source Value Records

ACS 88 3,091K

E214 7 38K

AFTZRP 1 3K

Canada 2 .05K

Paper Documents 1 6KCF-7501 and CF-214

Estimates 1 .2K

Totals 3.1 millionFebruary 2009 data

Sources of Export Data

Exports

• Automated Export System (AES)

• Canadian Data Exchange

• Estimates

Sources of Export Data

Source Percent of Number of

Value Records

AES 80 1,403K

Canada 18 669K

Estimates 2 22K

Paper 0 .04K

Totals 2.1 million

February 2009 data

Sources of Data

Editing at point of collection

• Data are edited at point of collection

• Alerts the filer of any discrepancies

• Ensures best quality data

Topics

• Sources of Data

• Processing

• Data Categories

• Difference

Processing

Overview

• Prepare for editing

• Edit

• Resolve errors

• Categorize and aggregate the data

Prepare Records for Editing

Combine Sources

• Reformat data to uniform structure

• Identify Non-statistical transactions

• Low value records

Statistical time periods

• Imports - Release date

• Exports - Clearance date

• Statistical month

• Carryover

Preliminary Alterations

• Recode commodities as necessary

• Convert Schedule B from HTSUSA (exports only)

• Convert quantities

Apply Corrections to Data

• Customs corrections

• Filer corrections

Editing

Overview

• Code Validations

• Relationship Edits

• Ratio Edits

• Range Edits

Editing

Code ValidationsWe validate codes with lookup tables that

are updated monthly.– Harmonized System commodity – Country of origin– Foreign port– U.S. port– Special Program Indicators (imports)

Editing

Relationship Edits

• Commodity-specific relationship edits

Example: import bananas from Greenland

• Mode of Transportation and Port of Unlading relationship

Editing

Ratio Edits• Verify numeric data by computing ratios• Check ratios against commodity-specific

ranges• Several types of ratio edits

o Quantity to valueo Quantity to shipping weight/value to shipping

weighto First quantity to second quantity for shipments

requiring two quantities

Editing

Ratio Edits

• Unit price example - Fireworks– We edit the quantity using unit price

parameters of 0.663966/kg and $30.165/kg

– We expect a $40,000 shipment of fireworks from China to have a quantity between 1,326 kg and 60,244 kg

Editing

Range Edits• Range Edits

o Shipping weight exceeds what the mode of transportation can carry

• Commodity-Specific Range Editso Focus on each individual commodity– Example: 20 kilograms of diamonds

unlikely

Editing

Commodity Specific Parameters

• 2.7 million parameters

• Files containing editing parameters by commodity

• Flexible – can easily make necessary changes to parameters

Editing

Error resolution• Cannot review every erroneous

record• Analysts review records that have

the most impact• Edit programs impute the other

records

Editing

Estimation• Estimate a new quantity or shipping

weight from a factor and value or previously edited field

• Unit price example1,000 kg of fireworks valued at $40,000

would reject our edit. Using an imputation factor of $4.51/kg, the edit program would change quantity to 8,853 kg.

Editing

Analyst review

• Contact the filer

• Ensure correct classification

• Bypass the edits

Editing

Analyst Review• Review data by grouping individual records• Aggregate by commodity to determine if total

values and quantities are reasonable• Utilize control files• Compare measures to previous months –

look for missing or misreported data and identify processing problems

Topics

• Sources of Data• Processing• Data Categories• Difference

– Differences between the ACE Portal and the Published Statistics.

Import Data Categories

General Imports– Measures the arrival of goods into the United

States. – Consumption Entry and Admission to

Warehouse/FTZ

Imports for Consumption – Measures the merchandise that have cleared

Customs.

– Consumption Entry and Warehouse/FTZ Withdrawal

Import Data Categories

Usually Imports for Consumption <= General Imports

Remember:

Consumption = Consumption+withdrawals

General = Consumption+admissions

Why could Consumption be greater than General Imports?

Goods processed in a FTZ

Example: Petroleum entered in FTZ General import stats would show Ch 27 when

goods admitted to FTZ

Petroleum is processed in the zone, creating byproducts classified in Ch 25

Therefore imports for consumption are based on what EXITS the zone (Ch 25)

Why could Consumption be greater than General Imports?

Petroleum processed in a FTZ could result in:

Chapter 27

General import stats > Consumption stats

Chapter 25

General Import stats < Consumption stats

Export Data Categories

Domestic– Merchandise grown, produced or

manufactured in the U.S.– Foreign merchandise changed in the U.S.

Foreign (re-export)– Foreign merchandise, entered for

consumption or into a warehouse or FTZ, that is unchanged at the time of export.

Data Categories

Noncontiguous trade– PR and VI trade with U.S. are Non-

contiguous exports (separate data product)

Topics

• Sources of Data• Processing• Data Categories• Differences

– Differences between the ACE Portal and Published Statistics.

ACE Portal

Several sources of data are used in Census publications.

Data users will not see all the data, such as statistics on paper, and low value estimates.

ACE Portal

Census Categorizes data by Entry Types• General Imports• Consumption Imports

The Ace Portal will contain all entry types• Double counting trade into and out of

warehouses and Foreign Trade Zones

ACE Portal

Differences in the data• Editing and imputing to the data occur

after the data are extracted from the source

• Non-statistical data are not published• Multi-commodity line reporting

ACE Portal

Time periods• Late filings are published in a later

statistical month, and then corrected in the yearly revisions.

• Early filings are held until the next processing month

Data Processing and Editing

Questions!

Rachelle.J.Reeder@census.gov

(301)763-6922

The United States – Canada Data

Exchange

Wandra V. McKeeProcess Coordination Staff U.S. Census BureauApril 23, 2009

Wandra.V.McKee@census.gov

Agreement between the governments of the United States and Canada

based on a

Memorandum of UnderstandingMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) (MOU)

What is the United States – Canada Data Exchange?

Who is Involved?

UNITED STATES• U.S. Census Bureau (BOC)• U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP)

CANADA• Statistics Canada (STC)• Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

How Does It Work?

U.S. Exports to Canada -

Canadian Imports from the U.S.

Canadian Exports to the U.S. -

U.S. Imports from Canada

Why Was It Created?

‣ Rise in Export under coverage

Other Benefits: ‣ Decrease operating costs to process Export Declarations

‣ Eliminate reporting burden of Exporters

‣ Location and language of both countries

What Are Some Differences in the Data Exchange?

° Port Codes

° State of Export

° Vendor vs. Exporter (USPPI)

> STC transmits files twice per month

> Adjustments are required

How Do We Receive Canadian Import Data?

What Kind of Adjustments?

• Freight Charges

• Currency Conversion

• Exports of Foreign Goods to Canada

• Exports of U.S. Goods to Canada from Third Party Countries

* Revisions

Freight Charges

▪ Included in U.S. Exports

▪ Excluded in Canadian Imports

▪ Added to compensate for difference in valuation

~ U.S. Federal Reserve’s

monthly exchange rate

~ STC converts to U.S. dollars;

transmits data to BOC

Currency Conversion

Exports of Foreign Goods to Canada

• Transmitted from STC

• BOC includes these goods

in U.S. export statistics

Exports of U.S. Goods to Canada from Third Party Countries

• Transmitted from STC

• BOC excludes these goods from U.S. export statistics

Revisions

• Estimates for Late Arrivals

• Corrections from STC

• Corrections Made by BOC

Estimates for Late Arrivals

• STC sends with second transmittal

• Estimates replaced with actual values the following month in the

FT-900 press release only

Corrections from STC

• STC sends with second transmittal

• Corrections from first transmittal

Corrections Made By BOC

• Commodity analysts verify corrections with their STC counterparts

• Corrections made prior to publication, when possible

??? Questions ???

Wandra V. McKee

Wandra.V.McKee@census.gov

Trade with Partner Countries

Emmanuel Omoruyi

April 23, 2009

U.S. Census Bureau

Definition of Partner Country

Special Cases

Reasons for Trade Discrepancies

Resolving Trade Discrepancies

Work in Progress with Partner countries

Exports - Country of Ultimate Destination

as known at the time of exportation

Definition of Partner CountryWhat is considered an export ?

• Domestically produced merchandisesold to a foreign country

• Foreign goods resold to a foreign country• Parts exported for further processing or

incorporation into a more advanced product

• Capital equipment shipped to a foreign assembly or manufacturing location

• Charitable goods

Imports – Country of Origin • Grown, mined, produced or manufactured

“Substantially transformed”• U.S. Customs define country of origin based

on legal, trade agreement and policy

Imports- Country of Origin

• China exports domestic product to India

• India incorporates product but not “substantially transformed” under U.S. rules and export the product to the U.S.

• China is still country of origin

Trade with Partner countries

Export

No records of Chinaexport to U.S Re-export to U.S.

China made tile cutterMachine.Country of Origin, China

India add rollers and handle to the tile Machine India Stat; Import from ChinaIndia Stat: Re-exportCountry of Origin, China

U.S. Stat: Import from China, Country of Origin."Not Substantially transformed"India Country of export

Imports – Country of Origin• United Kingdom exports U.S. manufactured

aircraft and cars to Germany, which sell to Argentina

• United Kingdom: exports to Germany• Germany: Imports from U.S.• Argentina: Imports from U.S

Export

No exp

ort re

No export record

U.K. export U.S made aircraft & automobile to Germany.U.K stat: Re-export to Germany.Country of Origin: U.S.Country of Export: U.S.

Germany Stat: Imports from U.S., Country of Origin.Country of Export: U.K.

Argentina: Imports from U.S. Country of Origin.Country of Export: Germany.

U.S. Business entity export domestic aircraft and automobile to U.K.U.S. Stat: export to U.K.Country of Origin is U.S.Country of Export is U.S.

Special Cases

Re-imports:• Reported under HS 9801- imports from

country of shipment• Country of origin undetermined• International Standard Organization (ISO)

coding errors

Special CasesIn-Transit Goods• U.N. Guidelines– exclude goods moving under

Customs bond from statistics• Shipper may choose to enter and re-export

- EX: Goods transiting U.S. Between Canada and Mexico

• Imports from Canada• Re-export to Mexico

• Valuation of goods• Definition of goods Traded• Trade through a third Country• Geographic Coverage• Low Value• Classification issues• Undercounting or under reporting

• The valuation of goods– U.S. value imports on C.I.F basis and exports on

F.A.S basis. Other countries often value trade differently.

• Definition of goods– The U.S. does not count containers as goods

traded with partner’s countries

• Third country– Foreign countries often don’t know final destination

of their exports.

• Geographic coverage– Trading partners’ often treat Puerto Rico and Virgin

Islands trade as trade with separate countries.

Trade with Partner CountriesReasons for Trade Discrepancies

• Low Value – $2000 for imports, $2500 for exports

• Classification issues– True commodity classification

• Undercounting or under reporting– Import trade is generally more accurate than

export.– Export trade may be understated

Resolving Trade Discrepancies

• Reconciliation is done to resolve significant trade discrepancies between reported U.S. trade values and a partner’s trade values.

• We try to resolve the trade difference by assigning reasons and dollar amounts for all previous sources.

Resolving Trade DiscrepanciesU.S. Published Imports (Total Imports)Re-imports (-)Imports from 3rd countries (-)Shipping Containers (-)Geographical coverage (PR & VI) (-)Low Value (-)Re-exports (+)Residuals Partner Published Exports (Total Exports)

Current Reconciliation Work• China:

-Hong Kong re-exports; 3rd Country issue-Processing Regimes; Valuation issue-Ship Cranes-Harmonize System code (HS 842619);

commodity issue• Morocco:

-Special trade; trade agreement issue-Export through Europe; 3rd country issue

Any questions ?

Emmanuel.O.Omoruyi@census.gov

Methods Research & Quality Assurance

Branch

Andrew ChangApril 23, 2009

U.S. Census Bureau

Port and Port and Mode of Transportation DataMode of Transportation Data

Objectives

District/Port Data Definitions.

Mode of Transportation (MOT).

Data Quality Issues.

What is a Port Code?

A 4 digit number consisting of the customs District and Port.

District Port

Port Data Definitions

Port of ExportationVessel or Air – Customs port where merchandise is

loaded on the conveyance that takes it out of the

country.

Vessel could be containerized or non containerized.

Overland – Customs port where merchandise crosses

the U.S. border into foreign territory.

Port Data Definitions Cont.

Port of Entry Import Port of Entry

The port in which merchandise clears Customs for

entry into consumption, bonded warehouses, or

Foreign Trade Zones.

Import Port of Unlading

The port where merchandise is unloaded from the

importing vessel or aircraft.

Mode of Transportation (MOT) Transportation Statistics Categories

Vessel, Air, and Other Methods.

Based on the MOT by which the merchandise arrives in or departs from the United States.

We obtain this information from the documentation the filers provide.

Other methods are available for certain publications (i.e. rail vs. truck or container vs. non container for vessel) .

Mode of TransportationCont.

Entering/Departing through Canada & Mexico.

Recorded under the MOT by which they enter or depart the U.S. regardless of the transportation mode for the rest of their journey.

How does a truck get here from China?

MOT is identified by the method of conveyance that is used when the shipment crosses the border into the U.S.

Example: China Canada on vessel, then Canada U.S. on truck.

Over 5% of goods arriving over land originate in countries other than Canada and Mexico.

Reporting of District/Port DataFiling

Imports – data captured at time of entry

summary.

Exports – port where shipment is

expected to ship from.

Quality Issues Related to Filing.

Knowledge of Filer.

Airports and Seaports.

Correcting the obsolete/incorrect codes.

Unknown container status is coded as non-

container.

Quality Issues relating to Mail, Pipeline and Other Unknowns

U.S. MailFor exports via U.S. Mail, filers can report

any code, but the Census Bureau changes the code to ‘8000’ .

The Census Bureau corrects some export shipments that are incorrectly reported as mail (e.g. fire trucks) .

Mail, Pipeline and Other Unknowns

PipelineFor shipments by pipeline, exporters

file with the port having jurisdiction for the pipeline.

User-Fee Ports and Nearby Ports

Many small package couriers have their own port codes

Recoding of courier port codes

Canadian Data Exchange

Quality Issue

We take Canada’s imports for our exports which can lead to inaccurate port code information

Canada does not collect containerized vessel shipment information for their imports

Thus for Canadian shipments, all vessel shipments have unspecified as the container status

Questions?

Andrew Chang

Andrew.Chang@census.gov

(301) 763-1022

Quality Issues

Robin Gibson

April 23, 2009

U.S. Census Bureau

Topics Covered

• Uses of Foreign Trade Statistics

• Quality Issues

• Responses to Quality Issues

Uses of Foreign Trade Statistics

Accurate trade data are necessary for economic, commercial, and policy purposes.

Used by– Government– Non-Government

Government Uses

• Develop the merchandise trade figures • To appraise and analyze major movements

and trends in international trade• To evaluate and plan various programs• To measure impact of tariff and trade

concessions

• Statistical base to implement and analyze operations under various international agreements

• E.g. NAFTA

Government Uses (cont.)

Meet legal and regulatory requirementsImports

• Correctly assess import duties• Administer embargoes and quotas• Restrict counterfeit items entering the country• Implement control policies

ExportsEffectively administer control and regulatory policies for • national security or foreign policy reasons• implement export quotas or embargo programs • administer short supply programs

Non-Government Uses

Users in industry, finance, research, and transportation

• Appraise the general trade situation and outlook

• Perform share-of-the-market analyses and market penetration studies

• Aid in product and market development• Measure the impact of competition• Determine marketing policies

Importance of Data Quality

• Leading economic indicator

• Wide and varied group of uses

• Committed to producing quality data

• To use information wisely and appropriately need to understand limitations.

Quality Issues

• Reporting Errors

• Documentation

• Low Value

• Carryover

• Revisions

Reporting Errors

Mistakes or omissions made by importers, exporters, or their agents when reporting import or export shipments

Common Data Elements• quantity or shipping weight• state of origin designation• commodity code• charges

Reporting Errors

Misclassification of Commodity Codes

• Import information subject to greater scrutiny so more common with exports and duty free imports

• Results in inaccuracies for commodity level detailed data

Reporting Errors

Reasons for Misclassification

– Typos– Duty avoidance– Not understanding the classification

system

*Census Bureau utilizes edits to detect misreporting and send error messages to the

filers*

Reporting Errors

Charges– Invoiced freight, insurance, or other

charges• If included in the invoice price must be

included in the Customs Value• If an importer does not know the exact value of

all charges, must be estimated• The filer must have documentation to exclude

an item from Custom Value

– Result is actual value may be overstated

Quality Issues

• Reporting ErrorsReporting Errors

• Documentation

• Low ValueLow Value

• CarryoverCarryover

• RevisionsRevisions

Documentation

Documentation issues can arise when shipments– move through an intermediary country– move through Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs)– consist of rail cars and/or locomotives

DocumentationIntermediary CountryCanada

– Exports to Canada; no documentation required– Exports where Canada is not the ultimate

destination country; documentation is required

Transiting Goods– When under bond, excluded from trade statistics– Sometimes entered into the US using import entry

summary and an export declaration is filed

Documentation

Foreign Trade Zones

Goods enter a FTZ– A customs form 214 is filled out

Goods withdrawn from a FTZ can be– Imports– Exports– In-bond

Foreign Country

U.S. Customs Territory

Export documentation should befilled out

Import documentation must be filled out, duties paid

Shipment in-bond, no duties paid

Documentation

Foreign Trade Zone Withdrawals

Documentation

Imports of Rail Cars

By law importers of rail cars and locomotives are not required to report their shipments, when duty free

Statistics Canada (STC) – established a voluntary survey – included as a revision to Canada’s export trade data

since late 2004

Quality Issues

• DocumentationDocumentation

• Low Value

What is Low Value?

Value-based exemptions – If value is under the exemption level

• Import shipments – do not have to report full details

• Export transactions – do not have to report

– Initially enacted in the early 1960s– Introduced to relieve increasing filer

burden– Updated several times since

Low Value Estimation

– Amount of detailed records collected from low valued shipments declined

– Value of these shipments is estimated

– Factors based on ratios of low valued shipments to individual country total for past periods

– Monthly trade total for each country multiplied by the factor, to produce a estimate of low value as a percentage of total value

– Factors received last major update in 1989

Update to Low Value Estimation

Currently working on an update to the low value estimation methodology

Anticipate implementing for imports and exports in 2010.

Quality Issues

• Carryover

Carryover

– Trade records received and/or processed too late for inclusion with records in the correct transaction month

– Current carryover rate (2008 avg. of total value)

• 0.36% exports• 0.81% imports

Carryover

Each month in the FT900, the total import, export, trade balance and “end-use” totals for the prior month are adjusted for carryover

• SITC (Standard International Trade Classification) and country detail reports not revised

Annual revision takes place each June• SITC and country detail reports are revised

Quality Issues

• Revisions

Revisions

Every June of the current year, FTD publishes an annual revision of the previous year– Carryover correction– Corrections resulting from data

investigations– Customs and Canadian revisions

Response to Quality Issues

What we’re doing to address these concerns.

Automated Reporting

• Effective July 2, 2008 all exports must be filed through the Automated Export System (AES)

• Imports can be electronically filed through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI), and soon through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)

Benefits of Automated Reporting

– Receive and compile data quickly– Reduce Error

• Exports (as of a 2001 study)– 57% of paper SEDs contain errors– 10% of AES records contain errors

• Imports (as of a 2001 study)– 37% of Customs Entry Forms 7501 contain

errors– 8% of ABI records contain errors

Benefits of Automated Reporting

– Online, instant validation checks

– Reduction in carryover

Exports

– AES Compliance Review Program

– Less export paper documents are lost

Conclusion

FTD continues to monitor the quality of data during collection, processing, and publication.

We are constantly exploring ways to further improve the quality of international trade data.

Questions ?

roberta.gibson@census.gov(301) 763-4690

Methods Research and Quality Assurance Branch

(301) 763-3080

Profile of U.S. Exporting Companies 2006-2007

Ben Shelak

April 23, 2009

U.S. Census Bureau

Released April 9, 2009

Available on FTD Website back to 1996

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aip/index.html#profile

Profile of U.S. Exporters2006 – 2007

Profile of U.S. Exporters 2006 – 2007

U.S. Census Bureau NewsU.S. Department of Commerce • Washington, D.C. 20230

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

8:30 A.M. EST FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2009

For information contact: (301) 763-3629 CB-xx-xxJeff McHugh or Benjamin Shelak

A Profile of U.S. Exporting Companies, 2006 - 2007

Partially $ponsored by the

International Trade Administration (ITA)

Produced by the Special Projects Branch

Produced by linking export records to the Census Business Register, which contains employment, company types, & company locations

Composition of Total Export Value: 2007Composition of Total Export Value: 2007

Unidentified = Unidentified = Exports that could not Exports that could not be matched to Business be matched to Business RegisterRegister

Identified = Exports Identified = Exports that could be matched to that could be matched to the Business Register the Business Register (Known export value)(Known export value)

Other = Low value Other = Low value est., revisions, Gov’t est., revisions, Gov’t shipmentsshipments

Unidentified Identified Other

The Profile can answer questions such as:

Value that can be attributed to large manufacturers in 2007

Canada’s known export value that can be attributed to companies with 1 to 19 employees

Number of companies that exported from Maryland in 2007 and how much known value was exported

Profile Provides Data Users: Exporting community’s employment sizes,

types of companies, & major foreign markets

Top 25 U.S. export countries and multiple country groupings

Export value and number of exporters for each state (OM State)

Number of employees of identified exporting companies

Profile Characteristics - I

Company type – NAICS based (North American Industry Classification System)

Manufacturers

Wholesalers

Unclassified

Company size - # of employeesSmall (0-99 employees)

Medium (100-499 employees)

Large (500 or more employees)

Profile Characteristics - II

Unclassified0.5%

Others14.3%

Wholesalers19.8%

Manufacturers 65.4%

2007 Known Export ValueBy Company Type

$136.5

$65.2 $62.7$50.3 $49.7

$34.7 $33.0 $27.4 $26.4

$249.0

2007 Top 10 Export CountriesKnown Export ValueKnown Export Value (in billions)

Export Concentration

8.6%12.6%

Top100

Top250

Top500

Companies

2007 Export Value and Number of Exportersby Employee Sizes

Large (500 or More)

Medium (100-499)

Small (0-99)

Employee Sizes:

Known Export Value ($1,031 bil.)

Number of Exporters (266,457)

How is our data valuable to data users?

Example:

A data user wants to know how many Large sized companies (500+ Employees) export to OPEC countries and how much value is exported.

Profile of U.S. Exporters 2006 – 2007Special requests for data:

We may be able to provide special tabulations that are not included in the Profile.

Example:

A data user wanted to know the number of U.S. companies that exported to Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) countries in a given year.

Table 5a of the Profile did not provide export data on these CAFTA countries, so we compiled the data for the data user.

Profile of U.S. Importers

Why? - To meet a growing demand for statistics on U.S. importers

Produced by linking import records to the Census Business Register, which contains employment, company types, & company locations

The EDB Team

Jeffrey McHughBen Shelak

(301)763-3629

Origin of Movement Export State

Origin State, ZIP Code & Sub-state Data

John Chantis

April 23, 2009

U.S. Census Bureau

Background:

Origin of Movement (OM) State – Based on

Origin State “State OM”

Origin of Movement (OM) State – Based on ZIP Code “ZIP Code OM”

Background:

For more information visit http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/state/index.html

Data Dissemination Branch 301-763-2311

Based on Origin State:

Available 1987-Present

Based on the state in which the goods begin their journey to the port of export

Does not represent the production origin of U.S. export merchandise

Origin State examples:

Goods warehoused in GA transported to a FL port to be shipped to a foreign country. OM state is……GA

Auto parts produced from many states are consolidated in TX to be exported to Mexico. OM state is……TX.

Origin of Movement (OM) State Series – Based on Origin State

Available in our monthly FT900 Press Release, supplement, exhibit 2

Web address: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-

Release/current_press_release/exh2s.pdf

More detailed information

Based on ZIP Code: Available January 2006 - Present

The ZIP Code of the USPPI, the party in the US that receives the primary benefit

from the shipment

Does not necessarily represent the location of the USPPI

ZIP Code State examples:

Goods warehoused in GA transported to a FL port to be shipped to a foreign country. ZIP state is ...GA.

Auto parts produced from many states are consolidated in TX to be exported to Mexico. ZIP state is……TX.

ZIP Code based report: Similar to FT-900 supplement, exhibit

2 press release; available on our website:

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/state/zip/index.html

Regulations – address of the USPPI

Effective October 2008, the USPPI should report the address from which the goods begin the journey to the port of export.

Same for state code and ZIP Code.

OM State vs. ZIP Based State(in millions of dollars)

Q1 = -14.96 Median = -3.47 Q3 = 6.97#States within (-10%, 10%) = 25

State State OM ZIP OM Pct Diff Wyoming 1,081.0 360.1 -66.69 Alaska 3,569.1 1,874.0 -47.49 New Mexico 2,779.5 1,459.8 -47.48 Louisiana 41,926.8 22,409.0 -46.55 Hawaii 964.0 613.5 -36.36

. . . Illinois 53,444.5 72,668.1 35.97 Connecticut 15,313.1 21,170.0 38.25 Michigan 44,871.4 64,429.7 43.59 Minnesota 19,158.6 31,052.8 62.08 Dist of Columbia 1,195.9 3,045.6 154.67

Other available state data products: FTD - Quarterly and Annual OM & ZIP state

data is available for download. Please call our Current Systems Programming

Branch on 301-763-2214. Available in three options….

Option 1: State by 3-Digit NAICS Commodity by Country (Total, Air and Vessel). Option 2: Region by 4-Digit SITC, District/Port of Exit, & Country (Total, Air & Vessel). Option 3: State by District/Port of Exit, & Country (Total, Air & Vessel)- No Commodity Detail

Other products … Manufacturing and Construction

Division (MCD) - Gives exports by state and 3 digit NAICS. Available online at http://www.census.gov/mcd/exports/.

Sub-State Data

Data historically based on Metropolitan Area (MA).

The term “Core Based Statistical Area” (CBSA) is a collective term, defined by Office of Management & Budget (OMB), for metro and micro areas.

New definitions for CBSA’s were announced by OMB on June 2003.

Sub-State Data

CBSA’s based on ZIP Code of US Principal Party in Interest (USPPI).

CBSA’s now cover areas of 10 to 50 thousand population, which were not covered by MA’s.

CBSA codes increase coverage to about 93% of the population vs 80% with MA’s.

Sub-State Data In preparation for reintroducing ZIP Code

based tables, in 2006 completed a quality review of ZIP Codes based on 2005 data

Historically, under contract, we have produced data for ITA

To date we provided 3-digit ZIP Code & CBSA Metro totals for 2005 - 2007 Export data to ITA http://ita.doc.gov/td/industry/otea/metro/

Next Steps…Have started our analysis to provide data

to ITA based on 2008 trade.

• The current contract calls for CBSA by 3-digit NAICS, CBSA by Destination, 3-digit NAICS by CBSA, and other tables of trade totals.

• 2008 CBSA data will be available mid to late 2009.

For more information:

John.Chantis@Census.govSpecial Projects Branch Foreign Trade Division

(301) 763-3251www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/