         INFORMATION ON GOODS AND SERVICES


GOODS
CENSUS BASIS
The Census basis goods data are compiled from the documents 
collected by the U.S. Customs Border and Protection and reflect 
the movement of goods between foreign countries and the 50 states, 
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, 
and U.S. Foreign Trade Zones.  They include government and 
non-government shipments of goods, and exclude shipments between 
the United States and its territories and possessions, transactions 
with U.S. military, diplomatic and consular installations abroad, 
U.S. goods returned to the United States by its Armed Forces, 
personal and household effects of travelers, and in-transit shipments.  
The General Imports value reflects the total arrival of merchandise 
from foreign countries that immediately enters consumption channels, 
warehouses, or Foreign Trade Zones.

For imports, the value reported is the U.S. Customs Border and 
Protection appraised value of merchandise; generally, the price 
paid for merchandise for export to the United States.  Import duties, 
freight, insurance, and other charges incurred in bringing merchandise 
to the United States are excluded.

Exports are valued at the f.a.s.- free alongside ship value of 
merchandise at the U.S. port of export, based on the transaction 
price including inland freight, insurance, and other charges incurred 
in placing the merchandise alongside the carrier at the U.S. port of 
exportation.

Monthly data include actual month's transactions as well as a small 
number of transactions for previous months.  Each month we revise 
the aggregate seasonally adjusted (current and chain-weighted dollar) 
and unadjusted export, import and trade balance figures, as well as 
the end-use totals for the prior month.  SITC and country detail data 
are not revised monthly.  The timing adjustment shown in Exhibit 14 is 
the difference between monthly data as originally reported and as 
recompiled. Quarterly revisions are made to the chain-weighted dollar 
series. In the last month of each quarter, the current and previous 
quarter are revised to incorporate the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 
monthly revisions and align Census and the U.S. Bureau of Economic 
Analysis' quarterly data. Annual revisions for the months are made 
in June to reflect corrections received subsequent to the monthly 
revisions. These revisions are reflected in totals, end-use, SITC, 
and country summary data. The monthly end-use, commodity, and country 
area data presented in this release are on a Census basis.  This refers 
to Exhibits 6 - 18.

U.S./CANADA DATA EXCHANGE AND SUBSTITUTION
The data for U.S. exports to Canada are derived from import data 
compiled by Canada.  The use of Canada's import data to produce 
U.S. export data requires several alignments in order to compare 
the two series.

1.   Coverage -- Canadian imports are based on country of 
     origin.  U.S. goods shipped from a third country are 
     included.  U.S. exports exclude these foreign shipments. 
     For August 2007, these shipments totaled $98.7 million. 
     U.S. export coverage also excludes certain Canadian 
     postal shipments.  For August 2007, these shipments 
     totaled $22.8 million.

     U.S. import coverage includes shipments of railcars and 
     locomotives from Canada.  Effective with January 2004 
     statistics, Canada excludes these shipments from its 
     goods exports to the United States, therefore creating 
     coverage differences between the two countries for these 
     goods.

2.   Valuation -- Canadian imports are valued at the point of 
     origin in the United States.  However, U.S. exports are 
     valued at the port of exit in the United States and include 
     inland freight charges, making the U.S. export value slightly 
     larger.  Canada requires inland freight to be reported. 
     Inland freight charges for August 2007 accounted for 2.1 
     percent of the value of U.S. exports to Canada.

3.   Reexports -- U.S. exports include reexports of foreign goods.  
     Again, the aggregate U.S. export figure is slightly larger.  
     For August 2007, reexports to Canada were  $3,018 million.

4.   Exchange Rate -- Average monthly exchange rates are applied 
     to convert the published data to U.S. currency. For August 
     2007, the average exchange rate was 1.0579 Canadian dollars 
     per U.S. dollar.

5.   Other -- There are other minor differences which are 
     statistically insignificant, such as rounding error.



Canadian Estimates
Effective with January 2001 statistics, the current month data 
for exports to Canada contain an estimate for late arrivals and 
corrections.  The following month, this estimate is replaced, in 
the press release tables only, with the actual value of late 
receipts and corrections.  This estimate improves the current 
month data for exports to Canada and treats late receipts for 
exports to Canada in a manner more consistent with the treatment 
of late receipts for exports to other countries.

Nonsampling errors

The goods data are a complete enumeration of documents collected 
by the U.S. Customs Border and Protection and are not subject to 
sampling errors; but they are subject to several types of 
nonsampling errors.  Quality assurance procedures are performed 
at every stage of collection, processing and tabulation; however 
the data are still subject to several types of nonsampling errors.  
The most significant of these include reporting errors, 
undocumented shipments, timeliness, data capture errors, and 
errors in the estimation of low-valued transactions.

Reporting Errors: Reporting errors are mistakes or omissions made 
by importers, exporters or their agents in their import or export 
declarations.  Most errors involve missing or invalid commodity 
classification codes and missing or incorrect quantities or 
shipping weights.  They have a negligible effect on import, export 
and balance of trade statistics.  However, they can affect the 
detailed commodity statistics.

Undocumented Shipments: Federal regulations require importers, 
exporters or their agents to report all merchandise shipments 
above established exemption levels.  The U.S. Census Bureau has 
determined that not all required documents are filed, particularly 
for exports.

Timeliness and Data Capture Errors: The U.S. Census Bureau captures 
import and export information from administrative documents and 
through various automated collection programs.  Documents may be lost, 
and data may be incorrectly keyed, coded or recorded.  Transactions 
may be included in a subsequent month's statistics if received late.

Low-valued Transactions: The total values of transactions valued as 
much as or below $2,500 for exports and $2,000 ($250 for certain 
quota items) for imports are estimated for each country, using factors 
based on the ratios of low-valued shipments to individual country 
totals for past periods.

The U.S. Census Bureau recommends that data users incorporate this 
information into their analyses, as nonsampling errors could impact 
the conclusion drawn from the results.  For a detailed discussion of 
errors affecting the goods data, see "U.S. Merchandise Trade Statistics: 
A Quality Profile" available on the internet at 
www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aip/index.html#infopapers or from the 
Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

AREA GROUPINGS (See Exhibits 14 and 14A)

North America - Canada, Mexico

Europe - Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbijan, 
Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, 
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, 
Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Gibralter, Greece, 
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Gozo, 
Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, 
Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, 
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Svalbard, Jan Mayen Island, Sweden, 
Switzerland, Turkey, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, 
United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican City.

European Union - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, 
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, 
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, 
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, 
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Euro Area - Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, 
Greece, Ireland,  Italy, Luxembourg,  Netherlands, Portugal, 
Slovenia, Spain.

Pacific Rim - Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, 
Japan, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, 
Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan.

South/Central America - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, 
Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, 
Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, 
Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, 
Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Grenada, 
Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, 
Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, 
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, 
Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela.

OPEC - Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, 
Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela.

Africa - Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, British Indian Ocean 
Territories, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, 
Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), 
Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, 
Ethiopia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Gabon, Gambia, 
Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, 
Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, 
Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, 
Rwanda, St. Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, 
Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, 
Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Adjustments for Seasonal and Working-Day Variations

Goods are initially classified under the Harmonized System (HS) 
which describes and measures the characteristics of goods traded.  
Combining trade into approximately 140 export and 140 import 
end-use categories makes it possible to examine goods according 
to their principal uses (See Exhibits 7 and 8).  These categories 
are used as the basis for computing the seasonal and working-day 
adjusted data.  These adjusted data are then summed to the six 
end-use aggregates for publication (Exhibit 6).  These data are 
provided to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, from the 
U.S. Census Bureau, for use in the Balance of Payments and the 
National Income and Product Accounts.

The seasonal adjustment procedure is based on a model that estimates 
the monthly movements as percentages above or below the general level 
of each end-use commodity series (unlike other methods that 
redistribute the actual series values over the calendar year).  
Because of the extremely variable movements of the data series for 
aircraft, users studying data trends may wish to analyze aircraft 
separately from other trade.

Adjustments for Price Change

Data adjusted for seasonal variation on a chained-dollar basis 
(2000 base year) are presented in Exhibits 10 and 11.  This adjustment 
for price change is done using the Fisher chain-weighted methodology.  
The deflators are primarily based upon the monthly price indexes 
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics using techniques developed 
for the National Income and Product Accounts by the U.S. Bureau of 
Economic Analysis.

SITC Data

Goods data appearing in Exhibit 15 are classified in terms of the 
Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) Revision 3.  
Agricultural goods consist of non-marine food products and other 
products of agriculture which have not passed through complex 
processes of manufacture, such as raw hides and skins, fats and oils, 
and wine. A few goods such as essential oils, starches, casein, 
and albumin, considered to be agricultural by the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, have been excluded from agricultural goods and are 
included in manufactured goods where they are classified in the SITC.

Manufactured goods conform to the SITC sections that include chemicals 
and related products; manufactured goods classified chiefly by material; 
machinery and transport equipment; miscellaneous manufactured articles; 
and goods and transactions not classified elsewhere.

Reexports are foreign merchandise entering the country as imports, and 
at the time of exportation are in substantially the same condition as 
when imported.  Reexports, included in overall export totals, appear as 
separate line items in Exhibit 15.

Advanced Technology Products (ATP)

About 500 of some 22,000 commodity classification codes 
used in reporting U.S. merchandise trade are identified as 
"advanced technology" codes and they meet the following criteria:

1.   The code contains products whose technology is from a 
     recognized high technology field (e.g., biotechnology).

2.   These products represent leading edge technology in that 
     field.

3.   Such products constitute a significant part of all items 
     covered in the selected classification code.

The aggregation of the goods results in a measure of advanced 
technology trade which appears in Exhibits 16 and 16A.  This 
product and commodity-based measure of advanced technology differs 
from broader NAICS industry-based measures which include all 
goods produced by a particular industry group, regardless of the 
level of technology embodied in the goods.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS (BOP) BASIS

Goods on a Census basis are adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic 
Analysis to goods on a BOP basis to bring the data in line with the 
concepts and definitions used to prepare the international and 
national accounts.  Broadly, the adjustments include changes in 
ownership that occur without goods passing into or out of the 
customs territory of the United States.  These adjustments are 
necessary to supplement coverage of the Census basis data, to 
eliminate duplication of transactions recorded elsewhere in the 
international accounts, and to value transactions according to a 
standard definition.

The export adjustments include:

     U.S. military sales contracts - This deduction of U.S. 
military sales contracts is made because the U.S. Census Bureau 
has included these contracts in the goods data, but BEA includes 
them in the service category "Transfers Under U.S. Military Sales 
Contracts."  BEA's source material for these contracts is more 
comprehensive, but has no distinction between goods and services.

     Private gift parcels - This addition is made for parcels 
mailed to foreigners by individuals through the U.S. Postal 
Service.  (Only commercial shipments are covered in Census 
goods exports.)

     Gold exports, nonmonetary - This addition is made for gold 
that is purchased by foreign official agencies from private dealers 
in the United States and held at the Federal Reserve Bank of 
New York.  The Census data only include gold that leaves the 
customs territory.



Some smaller adjustments are also made to exports:

     Deductions for repairs of goods, developed motion picture film, 
and military grant-aid.  Additions for sales of fish in U.S. 
territorial waters, exports of electricity to Mexico, and vessels 
and oil rigs that change ownership for which no export document is 
filed.

The import adjustments include:

     Inland freight in Canada - An addition is made for inland 
freight in Canada.  Imports of goods from all countries are valued 
at the foreign port of export, including inland freight charges 
("customs value").  In the case of Canada, this should be the cost 
of the goods at the U.S. border.  However, the customs value for 
imports for certain Canadian goods is the point of origin in Canada.  
The BEA makes an addition for the inland freight charges of transporting 
these Canadian goods to the U.S. border to make the value comparable 
to the customs value as reported by all other countries.  Insurance 
and freight charges for transporting goods to the United States from 
all other countries to the U.S. border are included in services by 
the BEA.  (The same procedure is used for Mexico as an Other Adjustment, 
but is much smaller.)

     Gold imports, nonmonetary - This addition is made for gold sold 
by foreign official agencies to private purchasers out of stock held 
at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  The Census data only include 
gold that enters the customs territory.

     Imports by U.S. military agencies - This deduction of U.S. military 
sales contracts is made because the U.S. Census Bureau has included 
these contracts in the goods data, but BEA includes them in the service 
category "Direct Defense Expenditures."  BEA's source material is more 
comprehensive, but has no distinction between goods and services.

Some smaller adjustments are also made to imports:

     Deductions for repairs of goods and developed motion picture film.  
Additions for imported electricity from Mexico, conversion of vessels 
for commercial use, repairs to U.S. vessels abroad, and valuation of 
prepackaged software imports at market value.

SERVICES

The statistics are estimates of services transactions between 
foreign countries and the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories 
and possessions.  Transactions with U.S. military, diplomatic, 
and consular installations abroad are excluded because they are 
considered to be part of the U.S. economy.

Services are shown in seven broad categories.  Types of services 
for imports and exports are the same for six of the seven categories.  
For the seventh, exports is "Transfers Under U.S. Military Sales 
Contracts" while for imports the category is "Direct Defense Expenditures."  
The following is a brief description of the types of services included 
in each category:

     Travel - Purchases of services and goods by U.S. travelers 
     abroad and by foreign visitors to the United States.  A traveler 
     is defined as a person who stays for a period of less than 1 year 
     in a country of which the person is not a resident.  Includes 
     expenditures for food, lodging, recreation, gifts, and other items 
     incidental to a foreign visit.

     Passenger Fares - Fares paid by residents of one country to 
     residents of other countries.  Receipts consist of fares received 
     by U.S. carriers from foreign residents for travel between the 
     United States and foreign countries and between two foreign points.  
     Payments consist of fares paid by U.S. residents to foreign carriers 
     for travel between the United States and foreign countries.

     Other Transportation - Charges for the transportation of goods by 
     ocean, air, waterway, pipeline, and rail carriers to and from the 
     United States.  Includes freight charges, operating expenses that 
     transportation companies incur in foreign ports, and payments for 
     vessel charter and aircraft rentals with crew.

     Royalties and License Fees - Transactions with foreign residents 
     involving intangible assets and proprietary rights, such as the 
     use of patents, techniques, processes, formulas, designs, know-how, 
     trademarks, copyrights, franchises, and manufacturing rights.  The 
     term "royalties" generally refers to payments for the utilization of 
     copyrights or trademarks, and the term "license fees" generally refers 
     to payments for the use of patents or industrial processes.

     Other Private Services - Transactions with affiliated foreigners, 
     for which no identification by type is available, and transactions 
     with unaffiliated foreigners.  (The term "affiliated" refers to a 
     direct investment relationship, which exists when a U.S. person has 
     ownership or control, directly or indirectly, of 10 percent or more 
     of a foreign business enterprise's voting securities or the equivalent, 
     or when a foreign person has a similar interest in a U.S. enterprise.) 

Transactions with unaffiliated foreigners consist of education services; 
financial services (includes commissions and other transactions fees 
associated with the purchase and sale of securities and noninterest 
income of banks, and excludes investment income); insurance services; 
telecommunications services (includes transmission services and 
value-added services); and business, professional, and technical services. 
Included in the last group are advertising services; computer and data 
processing services; database and other information services; research, 
development, and testing services; management, consulting, and public 
relations services; legal services; construction, engineering, architectural, 
and mining services; industrial engineering services; installation, 
maintenance, and repair of equipment; and other services, including 
medical services and film and tape rentals.

     Transfers Under U.S. Military Sales Contracts (Exports only) - 
Exports of goods and services in which U.S. Government military agencies 
participate.  Includes both goods, such as equipment, and services, such 
as repair services and training, that cannot be separately identified.

     Direct Defense Expenditures (Imports only) - Expenditures incurred 
by U.S. military agencies abroad, including expenditures by U.S. personnel, 
payments of wages to foreign residents, construction expenditures, payments 
for foreign contractual services, and procurement of foreign goods.  
Includes both goods and services that cannot be separately identified.

     U.S. Government Miscellaneous Services - Transactions of U.S. 
Government nonmilitary agencies with foreign residents.  Most of these 
transactions involve the provision of services to, or purchases of 
services from, foreigners; transfers of some goods are also included.

     Services estimates are based on quarterly, annual, and benchmark 
surveys and partial information generated from monthly reports.  Service 
transactions are estimated at market prices.  Estimates are seasonally 
adjusted when statistically significant seasonal patterns are present.  
No country or area detail is available due to the lack of adequate source 
data upon which to base estimates.

The revision Policy is as follows:  Each month, a preliminary estimate 
for the current month and a revised estimate for the immediately receding 
month are released.  After a revised month is released, no further changes 
are made to that month until more complete source data become available 
in March, June, September, and December. The releases in March, June, 
September, and December contain revised data for the previous six months. 
The release in March also contains revisions for all months of the previous 
year in order to align the seasonally adjusted monthly data with annual 
totals.  The release in June contains annual revisions, which reflect 
updated source data and changes in estimating methodologies.




                    MONTHLY RELEASE 
                       SCHEDULE


Date                    Day

Jan..... . . 03-09-07   Friday

Feb..... . . 04-13-07   Friday

Mar..... . . 05-10-07   Thursday

Apr..... . . 06-08-07   Friday

May..... . . 07-12-07   Thursday

Jun..... . . 08-14-07   Tuesday

Jul..... . . 09-11-07   Tuesday

Aug..... . . 10-11-07   Thursday

Sep..... . . 11-09-07   Friday

Oct..... . . 12-12-07   Wednesday

Nov..... . . 01-11-08   Friday

Dec..... . . 02-14-08   Thursday

Quarterly and annual estimates of services are included as part of the 
U.S. international transactions accounts, published in the April, July, 
October, and January issues of the Survey of Current Business.  
The next release of the U.S. international transactions accounts is 
scheduled for September 14, 2007. The Survey is available from the 
Superintendent     of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, 
Washington, D.C. 20402, or online at www.bea.gov/scb/index.htm.

ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY

The FT-900 and supplement are available on the following:

INTERNET The U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services 
reports are available at:  www.census.gov/ft900 
or www.bea.gov/bea/di/home/trade.htm.

STAT-USA The U.S. Department of Commerce's electronic 
information facility. Call 1 800 STAT-USA for product information.

Additional data and information on goods are obtainable from: 
Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, D.C.  20233

Additional data and information on services are obtainable from: 
Balance of Payments Division, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
Washington, D.C.  20230