Introduction
This publication is intended to serve as a guide to the various sources of foreign trade statistics and to inform users of the content and general arrangement of the data. The foreign trade statistics program is unique among the Census Bureau's economic statistics programs in that the information is not collected from forms sent to respondents soliciting responses as in the case of surveys. Rather, the information is compiled from forms and automated reports filed initially with the U.S. Customs Service or, in some cases, directly with the Census Bureau, for virtually all shipments leaving (exports) or entering (imports) the United States. Furthermore, exports to Canada are compiled from Canadian import data. The United States may be said to have had an adequate set of export and import statistics only since about 1821. Existing figures on the total value of imports prior to 1821 were apparently estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury. In the case of exports, while it was required by statute that the dollar value should be reported by the master of the vessel on which the goods left the country, it was common practice for Customs officials to adjust this reported value quite arbitrarily. By an Act of Congress, approved in February 1820, provision was made for the preparation of statistical accounts of commerce of the United States with foreign countries to show the kinds, quantities, and value of all articles exported to and of all articles imported from each foreign country. The burden of reporting exports was shifted from the master of the vessel to the actual exporter thereby decreasing the need for adjustments by Customs. From these meager beginnings the statistics on U.S. foreign trade in merchandise have evolved to the current broad range of highly detailed statistics designed to meet the needs of a variety of users. The most significant change in recent years occurred when the United States, in January 1989, adopted the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System) as the nomenclature for classifying both exports and imports. The Harmonized System was developed, with United States participation, by the Customs Cooperation Council based in Brussels, Belgium. Most countries, including our major trading partners (Canada, the European Economic Community, and Japan), are using this system providing the benefits of increased data comparability between countries and the U.S./Canadian data exchange. The development of sounder collection bases and greater detail in publicly available trade data occurred because of an increased need for accurate trade data for commercial, economic and political purposes. Government uses the foreign trade statistics in developing the merchandise trade figures in balance of payments accounts: to appraise and analyze major movements and trends (commodity and geographic) in international trade; to evaluate and plan such programs as export expansion, agricultural development and assistance, and programs under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Merchant Marine Act; and to measure the impact of tariff and trade concessions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The foreign trade data are also used extensively as the statistical base to implement and analyze operations under various international agreements, such as the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA), the U.S.-Canadian Free Trade Agreement, etc. Trade data are also used to meet a wide variety of legal and regulatory requirements. For example, accurate, detailed import data are essential to correctly assess import duties, administer embargoes and quotas, restrict counterfeit items entering the country, and implement control policies. Similarly, detailed export data are necessary to effectively administer export control and regulatory policies. Such export restrictions may be for national security or foreign policy reasons, for implementing export quotas or embargo programs, or for administrating short supply programs. Nongovernment users in industry, finance, research institutions, transportation, and other fields, use the foreign trade data to appraise the general trade situation and outlook; in share-of-the-market analyses and market penetration studies; in product and market development; for measuring the impact of competition; and, in general, as one of the statistical bases for determining marketing policies. The transportation industry-in particular vessel and air-makes extensive use of the data not only in market share and penetration analyses but also in the critical area of anticipating the need for and design of future facilities and equipment. The material in this Guide reflects the foreign trade statistical program in 1992. In view of the dynamic nature of the foreign trade statistics program and the desire to keep this program responsive to the varying needs of users, it is always possible that additional changes in the program may be required. As in the past, any changes of a substantial nature affecting the coverage or presentation of the statistics will be announced in the appropriate publications.