NOTICE - Improved Processing of Imports of Goods Filed via the Automated Commercial Environment

Statistics for trade in goods in upcoming releases will include improved coverage of imports filed in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) that are valued below the established filing exemption level (low-value imports). This improvement addresses increases in the number of shipments filed in ACE based on new filing requirements. For more information, please visit www.cbp.gov/trade/automated.

With the release of July 2015 statistics, estimates for low-value imports recorded in the principal commodity category “other goods” will include certain shipments filed in ACE that were previously omitted. These changes will be included in both the August 28, 2015 release of the Advance Report: U.S. International Trade in Goods (Advance Report) and in the September 3, 2015 release of the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report (FT-900).

With the release of August 2015 statistics, coverage will improve for additional commodities. These changes will be included in both the September 29, 2015 release of the Advance Report and the October 6, 2015 release of the FT-900. Because some importers filing in ACE reported their shipments by individual transaction rather than summarized them by commodity, some transactions were previously omitted from processing and were not included in the import statistics. The U.S. Census Bureau has improved its processes to include these individual transactions in the published commodity statistics; as a result, data users may see an increase in the value for any commodity in which lower value imports are prevalent.

The Census Bureau will revise historical statistics in June 2016 with the annual revision release. In order to maintain time-series consistency for imports of goods on a balance of payments (BOP) basis reported in the FT-900 prior to June 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will apply temporary BOP adjustments to imports of goods on a Census basis beginning with January 2015 statistics. These adjustments will be removed from imports of goods on a BOP basis in June 2016 when the Census Bureau revises historical statistics.

For more information, please contact the Census Bureau, Economic Statistical Methods Division, International Trade Statistical Methods Branch, on (301) 763-3080.