Databases - Economic Policy and Foreign Trade

• Monthly Statistics on International Trade
• International Trade by Commodity Statistics:
  • International Trade by Commodity Statistics - SITC Revision 2
  • International Trade by Commodity Statistics - SITC Revision 3
  • International Trade by Commodity Statistics - Harmonized System
• OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services - Vol I - Detailed Tables by Service Category
• OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services - Vol II - Detailed Tables by Partner Country

Monthly Statistics of International Trade OECD Online Database

This online database presents an up-to-date source of data on the foreign trade of all OECD Member countries. The data covered here are less detailed than the much larger set of data available on International Trade by Commodity CD-ROMs.

Part 1 - AGGREGATE TRADE INDICATORS

This section gives values of trade for the OECD as a whole, for each Member country and for selected groups of countries. The series in this part are shown both before and after adjustment for seasonal variations. These adjustments are made by the OECD using the X-12 method developed by the US Bureau of Census. Values for groups of countries are adjusted directly and are not therefore equal to the sum of the adjusted series for constituent countries. Added series feature calculated net trade and coverage ratios.

Part 2 - VOLUME AND AVERAGE VALUE INDICES

There is considerable variation between countries in the amount of detail provided and in the classifications used. For some countries there are long delays in the publication of these indices. Average value indices reflect changes in the commodity composition of trade as well as pure price movement. A few countries publish prices indices which eliminate the effect of change in trade composition. Unless otherwise stated, volume and price indices are base-weighted (Laspeyre); average value indices are current weighted (Paasche). Recent improvements in this section allow comparisons between countries since titles of series are now in line with the SNA nomenclature. In addition, a consistent methodology has been applied to link indices: the first value of the latest available time series is used to derive the coefficient applied to chain the latest series with the previous one.

1. Food,live animals, beverages and tobacco (SITC Sections 0 + 1)
2. Crude materials, inedible, animal and vegetable oils and fats (SITC Sections 2 + 4)
3. Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (SITC Section 3)
4. Chemicals, manufactured goods classified broadly by material, miscellaneous manufactured articles (SITC Sections 5 + 6 + 8 + 9)
5. Machinery and transport equipment (SITC Section 7)

Part 4 - TRADE BY PARTNER COUNTRIES

The fourth part provides data on trade of OECD Member countries and groups of Member countries with partner countries and groups of partner countries. Economic groupings have been added to geographical groupings.

Part 5 - EXCHANGE RATES

The exchange rates are supplied to assist converting national currency to US-dollars.

Each part consists of three table files corresponding to the frequency (months, quarters and years). Monthly rates for years and quarters. This facilitates calculation functions. Value data are presented in million US-dollars.

The database is accompanied by a 70-page PDF guide providing information on structure of the tables, listing of variables, definitions and sources.

Visit the Trade web site for more information.

International Trade by Commodity Statistics Online Database

The ITCS database set is a unique and reliable source of yearly statistical data on imports and exports of OECD countries and selected non-OECD countries (China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong), as well as of the OECD main country groupings. It provides detailed data in value (thousands USD) - and in some cases quantity - broken down by partner country (virtually all partner countries are included) and commodity.

ITCS contains trade by commodity data broken down  according three different  commodity classifications used and the length of the time series:

• SITC Revision 2 (Standard International Trade Classification Revision 2, 1976) - data from 1961 onwards;
• SITC Revision 3 (Standard International Trade Classification Revision 2, 1986) - data from 1991 onwards;
• Harmonised System - data from 1990/1996 onwards;

International Trade by Commodity
Statistics - SITC Revision 2

OECD gives the imports and exports of its Member countries in values (thousands of US dollar) and in quantities, broken down by type of commodity and by partner country. Data are classified according to the SITC (Standard International Trade Classification) or HS (Harmonised system) classification.

Since 1988, OECD receives annual foreign trade data according to HS or in a more desegregated level. Data are then converted into SITC Rev. 3 and Rev. 2 . From 1988, data may be obtained according to SITC Rev. 2 , SITC Rev. 3 or HS Rev. 1. However, it should be noted that if it is easily feasible to convert data from a recent revision to an older one, the conversion from SITC Rev. 2 to SITC Rev. 3 is quite delicate, if not impossible. Consequently, to obtain a consistent time series, one should carefully choose which revision to use. This is why from 1961 to 1990 data are only available in SITC Rev. 2 .

The SITC has been regularly revised to take into account the structural changes of the market according to the appearance of new commodities and the need of more detailed statistics on some commodity groups. Three versions of SITC exist. Two versions are available on CD-ROM, namely: ITCS SITC Rev. 2 and ITCS SITC Rev. 3.

The first revision (Rev. 1) was introduced in 1960. The second ( Rev. 2 ) containing 2582 products was introduced and adopted by most Member countries in 1978. The third revision (Rev. 3) which contains 4346 products, has been used from 1988 onwards, except the United States and Turkey which have adopted data in Rev. 3 only from 1989 onwards.

The CD-ROMs contain trade data as reported by OECD Member countries detailing exports and imports with all partner countries worldwide. Data is also presented for China, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong-China. The subscription includes a historical CD-ROM set at the beginning of the subscription period showing annual trade data for all OECD Countries starting in 1991. Each subsequent quarterly edition provides data for a few OECD countries starting in 1991 but including an additional reporting year. The 2002 subscription is adding 2001 data.

Visit the Trade web site for more information.

International Trade by Commodity
Statistics - SITC Revision 3

OECD gives the imports and exports of its Member countries in values (thousands of US dollar) and in quantities, broken down by type of commodity and by partner country. Data are classified according to the SITC (Standard International Trade Classification) or HS (Harmonised system) classification.

Since 1988, OECD receives annual foreign trade data according to HS or in a more desegregated level. Data are then converted into SITC Rev. 3 and Rev. 2. From 1988, data may be obtained according to SITC Rev. 2, SITC Rev. 3 or HS Rev. 1. However, it should be noted that if it is easily feasible to convert data from a recent revision to an older one, the conversion from SITC Rev. 2 to SITC Rev. 3 is quite delicate, if not impossible. Consequently, to obtain a consistent time series, one should carefully choose which revision to use. This is why from 1961 to 1990 data are only available in SITC Rev. 2.

The SITC has been regularly revised to take into account the structural changes of the market according to the appearance of new commodities and the need of more detailed statistics on some commodity groups. Three versions of SITC exist. Two versions are available on CD-ROM, namely: ITCS SITC Rev. 2 and ITCS SITC Rev. 3 .

The first revision (Rev. 1) was introduced in 1960. The second (Rev. 2) containing 2582 products was introduced and adopted by most Member countries in 1978. The third revision ( Rev. 3 ) which contains 4346 products , has been used from 1988 onwards, except the United States and Turkey which have adopted data in Rev. 3 only from 1989 onwards.

The CD-ROMs contain trade data as reported by OECD Member countries detailing exports and imports with all partner countries worldwide. Data is also presented for China, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong-China. The subscription includes a historical CD-ROM set at the beginning of the subscription period showing annual trade data for all OECD Countries starting in 1991. Each subsequent quarterly edition provides data for a few OECD countries starting in 1990 but including an additional reporting year. The 2002 subscription is adding 2001 data.

Visit the Trade web site for more information.

International Trade by Commodity
Statistics - Harmonized System

OECD gives the imports and exports of its Member countries in values (thousands of US dollar) and in quantities, broken down by type of commodity and by partner country. Data are classified according to the SITC (Standard International Trade Classification) or HS (Harmonised system) classification.

Since 1988, OECD receives annual foreign trade data according to HS or in a more desegregated level. Data are then converted into SITC Rev. 3 and Rev. 2. From 1988, data may be obtained according to SITC Rev. 2, SITC Rev. 3 or HS Rev. 1 . However, it should be noted that if it is easily feasible to convert data from a recent revision to an older one, the conversion from SITC Rev. 2 to SITC Rev. 3 is quite delicate, if not impossible. Consequently, to obtain a consistent time series, one should carefully choose which revision to use. This is why from 1961 to 1990 data are only available in SITC Rev. 2. HS is a more detailed classification with 6-digit subheadings, even when SITC has 5-digit headings.

An official version of the HS , was instituted in 1988 (Rev. 1). The HS has been revised in 1996 (Rev. 2) to take into account new trends in the composition of international trade. The HS is broken down by chapter (two-digit), by heading (four-digit) and by subheading (6 digit) with 6873 products .

SITC Rev. 3 was developed in 1988 in the same way as the HS . This is why SITC Rev. 3 follows the structure of the HS, so that the smallest SITC units are defined by HS subheadings.

The database contains trade data as reported by OECD Member countries detailing exports and imports with all partner countries worldwide. Data is also presented for China, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong-China.

The 2002 and newer edtions of the Harmonized data are now using the Harmonized System from 1996 (Revision 2 of the Harmonized System) and data reporting starts in 1996.

Visit the Trade web site for more information.

OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services

OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services consists of two components. For information on the contents of each components, click on the links below:

• OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services - Vol I - Detailed Tables by Service Category
• OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services - Vol II - Detailed Tables by Partner Country

OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services, Volume I - Detailed Tables by Service Category

This joint publication of OECD and Eurostat seeks to provide detailed data of international trade in services between residents and non-residents of the 30 OECD Member countries broken down by type of service according to a common classification and conceptual framework.

An important feature of the publication is the implementation of the 1993 Fifth Edition of the Balance of Payments Manual of the International Monetary Fund (BPM5) and the presentation of the Extended Balance of Payments Servicesi (EBOPS) Classification (given in Appendix 1). The EBOPS classification is closely linked to the BPM5. EBOPS can be characterised as a disaggregation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) classification for balance of payments transactions in trade in services. The main categories of this classification are identical to the 11 main service categories of the BPM5 standard components, with one minor exception, the treatment of construction services, which can also affect other business services. The EBOPS classification asks for construction abroad and construction in the compiling economy. These items both include goods and services purchased by construction services operations, while BPM5 recommends that these expenditures for goods and services purchased in the host economy be included in Other business services, Other. With this one exception, compiling and reporting on the basis of the EBOPS classification simultaneously satisfies IMF requirements.

The EBOPS classification is designed to address some of the detailed information needs of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). As yet, countries are not in a position to provide all the detailed data required in the EBOPS classification. It can be expected that the resulting missing data may over time be reduced.

The data are presented in a 5-dimensional table. The five dimensions of the table are

• countries,
• currencies (millions of United States dollars or national currency),
• items of the Extended Balance of Payments Services (EBOPS) Classification,
• flows and
• time period.

Data is shown from 1970 onwards for those countries for which data are available. All series are also presented in comma-delimited text files (CSV) on the CD-ROM. Data for Belgium and Luxembourg are presented together as the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union, although from 2002 data are reported separately.

Visit the web site for more information.

OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services, Volume II: Detailed Tables by Partner Country

This database provides trade in services data broken down by partner country for total services and four broad service categories, according to a common methodology and framework. Data broken down by partner country are currently available for 26 OECD member countries, at varying levels of details. Data for at least the main trading partners for each declaring country are provided. The data in this
edition cover the years 1999 onwards. . It provides partner country breakdowns for trade in services as a whole, transport services, travel, other commercial services, and government services.

The trade in services data are based on the concepts and framework of trade in services set out in the fifth edition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5) and refer to trade between residents of the reporting country and non-residents. Total services cover transportation, travel, communications, construction, insurance, finance, royalties and license fees, other business services, personal, cultural and recreational services and government services.

The OECD Secretariat has obtained data broken down by partner country for 26 of its member countries plus aggregates for the European Union (EU), the euro area and European Union institutions; and Hong Kong, China, which is a non-member country that is in the top ten service exporters in the world. These 26 OECD countries and Hong Kong, China accounted for about 78% of reported world service exports and about 74% of world services imports. However not all the services trade of these 27 countries can be allocated by partner so the percentage that can be allocated by partners is slightly lower i.e. about 75% for exports and about 71% for imports.

The data are presented in a 5-dimensional table. The five dimensions of the table are

• reporting countries,
• partner countries,
• series (Transport services, Travel, Other commercial services, and Government services not included elsewhere (n.i.e.),
• the flows (imports or exports) and
• time period.

Data is shown from 1999 to 2001 for those countries for which data are available. All series are also presented in comma-delimited text files (CSV) on the CD-ROM.

Visit the web site for more information.