| Abbreviation | Description |
| Areas NES | The partner "Areas NES (not elsewhere specified)" is used (a) for low value trade and (b) if the partner designation was unknown to the reporting country or if an error was made in the partner assignment. The reporting country does not send ITC the details of the trading partner in these specific cases. Sometimes reporters do this to protect company information.
So, one could say that "Area nes" is a group of partner countries, but the components of the group vary by reporter, by trade flow, by year and by commodity. |
| CIF | CIF is a trade term (Incoterm) meaning Cost, Insurance and Freight. |
| FOB | FOB is a trade term (Incoterm) meaning Free on Bord. |
| Free Zone | Free zones belong to the geographical and economic territory of a country but not to its customs territory. For the purpose of trade statistics the transactions between the customs territory and the free zones are recorded. Free zones can be commercial free zones (duty free shops) or industrial free zones.
A Free Zone is not a Free Trade Area.
Both "Free Zone" and "Bunkers" are trading partner entities.
For a definition of free zones in the EU, see:
ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs/procedural_aspects/imports/free_zones/index_en.htm
For a list of free zones in the EU, see:
ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/customs/procedural_aspects/imports/free_zones/list_freezones.pdf |
| Harmonized System (HS) | The Harmonized System (HS) is an international nomenclature defined by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for the classification of products. It allows participating countries to classify traded goods on a common basis for customs purposes. At the international level, the Harmonized System for classifying goods is a six-digit code system.
The HS comprises approximately 5,000 article/product descriptions that appear as headings and subheadings, arranged in 96 chapters (plus three special chapters), grouped in 21 sections (not used in Trade Map). The six digits of a product code can be interpreted by groups of two digits. The first two digits (HS-2) identify the chapter the good is classified in, e.g. 09 = Coffee, Tea, Maté and Spices. The next two digits (HS-4) identify groupings within that chapter, e.g. 09.02 = Tea, whether or not flavoured. The next two digits (HS-6) are even more specific, e.g. 09.02.10 = Green tea (not fermented)... Up to the HS-6 digit level, all countries using the Harmonized System classify products in the same way. |
| Mirror data | The trade of countries that do not report their trade data to UN Comtrade can be reconstructed on the basis of data reported by partner countries. The data obtained are called mirror data.
Mirror data is better than no data at all but it has a number of shortcomings:- Mirror data does not cover trade with other non-reporting countries. Consequently it does not cover intra-African trade accurately.
- The transshipment issue can hide the true origin of goods.
- Mirror data invert the reporting standards by valuing exports in CIF terms (i.e. including transportation and insurance costs) and imports in FOB terms (i.e.excluding these services).
- The number of reporting countries is different from one year to another. Hence comparisons over time using mirror data need to be interpreted with caution.
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| Neutral Zone | A neutral zone is a zone defined by a treaty, such as the one between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/SAU-KWT2000SA.PDF). |
| Re-exports | Re-exports are foreign goods that are re-exported in the same state as previously imported. They are included in the country exports. It is recommended that customs offices record them separately for analytical purposes, however this is rarely done in practice. Recording them separately may require the use of supplementary sources of information in order to determine the origin of re-exports, that is, to determine that the goods in question are indeed re-exports rather than the export of goods that have acquired domestic origin through processing. It is not possible to determine through Trade Map which export data are actually re-export data as most customs offices do not currently record re-exports separately. |
| Re-imports | Re-imports refer to imports of goods in the same state as previously exported. The country of origin of the goods is in this case the compiling country itself, which is reflected as a country’s trade with itself. The official definitions and descriptions in the Revised Kyoto Convention (Specific Annex B, Chapter 2) are set out below:
"Re-importation in the same state [is defined as] the customs procedure under which goods that were exported may be taken into home use free of import duties and taxes, provided that they have not undergone any manufacturing, processing or repairs abroad [...].
Re-importation in the same state shall be allowed even if only a part of the exported goods is re-imported.[...]
Re-importation in the same state shall not be refused on the grounds that the goods have been used or damaged or have deteriorated during their stay abroad.[...]
Re-importation in the same state shall not be refused on the grounds that, during their stay abroad, the goods have undergone operations necessary for their preservation or maintenance provided, however, that their value at the time of exportation has not been enhanced by such operations."
Re-imports are included in the country imports. It is recommended that Customs Offices record them separately for analytical purposes; however this is rarely done in practice. Recording them separately may require the use of supplementary sources of information in order to determine the origin of re-imports, i.e. to determine that the goods in question are indeed re-imports rather than the import of goods that have acquired foreign origin through processing. It is not possible to determine through Trade Map which import data are indeed re-import data as most customs offices do not record re-imports separately. |
| Ship stores and bunkers | Ship stores and bunkers are stores in ships and aircrafts, which consist mostly of fuels and food.
Both "Free Zone" and "Ship stores and bunkers" are trading partner entities. |
| Special Categories | The partner "Special Categories" is used by a reporting country if it does not want the partner breakdown to be disclosed. The use of this partner depends on the combination of reporting country, trade flow, year and commodity. |
| Tariff | A tariff is a customs duty or tax levied on imports of merchandise goods. Most of the time a tariff is an ad valorem tariff (percentage of value) or a specific tariff (e.g. $100 per ton). Less often, it can be a compound tariff made up of both of these elements applies. Tariffs are mostly levied on imports, but there are cases of tariffs on exports. Tariffs raise revenue for the government and increase the prices of imported products, thus giving domestically produced products a price advantage.
Generally, it is the importer that pays the tariff. The importer declares the dutiable value of merchandise to the Customs Authority in the importing country and the final appraisal of the goods value is done by customs. Most often it is the transaction value (the price actually paid by the buyer to the seller) that serves as the basis for the value appraisal.
Tariffs presented in Trade Map are averages of ad valorem equivalent import tariffs.
To learn more about tariffs please visit Market Access Map. |
| Tariff line level | The tariff line level refers to the classification codes of goods, applied by individual countries, that are longer than the 6-digit level of the Harmonized System (HS). Tariff line codes and the corresponding product descriptions define the products at the most detailed level in the country. This detailed level can differ from one country to another since countries are free to introduce national distinctions for tariffs and many other purposes.
The national tariff line codes are based on the HS but are longer than 6 digits. For example, the 6-digit HS code 010120 refers to "asses, mules and hinnies, live", whereas the US National Tariff line code 010120.10 refers to live purebred breeding asses, 010120.20 refers to live asses other than purebred breeding asses and 010120.30 refers to mules and hinnies imported for immediate slaughter. |
| Trade System | The trade systems are the different ways for a country to measure its international trade. There are two different trade systems.- The general trade system is in use when the statistical territory of a country coincides with its economic territory. Consequently, under the general trade system, imports include all goods entering the economic territory of the country. Exports include all goods leaving the economic territory of the country.
- The special trade system is in use when the statistical territory comprises only a particular part of the economic territory. The special trade system (strict definition) is in use when the statistical territory comprises only the free circulation area, that is, the part within which goods "may be disposed of without customs restriction". Consequently, in such a case, imports include all goods entering the free circulation area of the country, which means cleared through customs for home use. Exports include all goods leaving the free circulation area of the country. However, under the strict definition of the special trade system, goods imported for inward processing and goods which enter or leave an industrial free zone would not be recorded since they would not have been cleared through customs for home use. The compensating products after inward processing also would not be included in exports. Examples of these are when crude petroleum is brought into a country for refining under the inward processing procedure or when non-ferrous base metals are imported and smelted under the same procedure, and the resulting products are exported. From an economic standpoint, however, this kind of industrial activity does not differ from similar activities elsewhere in the economy. For this reason, it is recommended to include such activity in the record of special trade statistics. When this recommendation is applied, a "relaxed" definition of the special trade system is in use. The special trade system (relaxed definition) is in use when (a) goods that enter a country for or leave it after inward processing, and (b) goods that enter or leave an industrial free zone, are also recorded and included in international merchandise trade statistics
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