Behind the Numbers U.S. Trade in the World Economy (1992) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
4. Merchandise Trade
4. Merchandise Trade
Pages 77-113
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 77... ...
international economic statistics, which are estimates based on sample surveys of firms or establishments and other entities, merchandise trade (lata are compiled on the basis of full tabulation of the official import and export documents required by the Customs Service for tariff collection and export administration. Since lanuary 1989, U.S.
|
From page 78... ...
The agency recently eliminated the production of microfiche reports. The Census Bureau's monthly merchanclise trade statistics are also disseminated by the National Trade Data Bank, along with other economic data series.
|
From page 79... ...
In addition to the Census Bureau's merchandise trade statistics, other specialized primary data on U.S. exports and imports of specific commodities not covered in this study are collected and compiled by other federal agencies and private organizations.
|
From page 80... ...
Waterborne Exports and General Imports Monthly Computer Printouts of Selected Foreign Trade Commodities IM145 IM146 EM545 U.S. General Imports, by harmonized TSUSA commodity U.S.
|
From page 81... ...
National Trade Includes merchandise trade import and export data Data Bank from the Census Bureau. Network Access to Compact Discs (CD-ROMs)
|
From page 82... ...
, the Customs Service is responsible for collecting import and export documents, and the Census Bureau is charged to process them to compile merchandise trade statistics. The federal regulations stipulate that the Customs Service has overall responsibility for import documents (for example, the Customs Form 75011; the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Export Administration of the Department of Commerce are responsible for export documents (for example, the shippers' export declLaration tSEDi)
|
From page 83... ...
l l Edit, correct tabulate, review, analyze + ~ Trade l | statistics | ~ - ~ _ _ 1 Electronic transmission to Customs 1 , 1 ' , Weekly data extraction by Census's Foreign Trade Division · _ FIGURE 4-2 Merchandise trade data collection process.
|
From page 84... ...
Small fines are sometimes imposed for failure to comply. The Customs Service ordinarily gives the SEDs little or no review for completeness or accuracy and forwards them daily to the Census Bureau's Data Processing Division at leffersonville, Indiana.
|
From page 85... ...
to the Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division; they account for about 32.5 percent of the export transactions About 20 percent of the value of total U.S. exports)
|
From page 86... ...
The Customs Service weekly extracts statistical data onto magnetic tapes, which are forwarded also on a weekly basis to Census's Foreign Trade Division at SuitIand, Maryland, for further processing. Customs conducts a routine review of accepted entries.
|
From page 87... ...
Computer edits currently represent the major quality-control toot of the data collection system. As noted above, the Customs Service does not routinely examine export documents.
|
From page 88... ...
One item most frequently omitted on SEDs is the commodity cIassification.3 To impute the missing data, the clerical staff at Teffersonville use a commodity classification book and edit manual developed by the Foreign Trade Division that contains commodity codes and related price/quantity ratios. The staff also have access to Dun and Bradstreet publications and the Thomas Register, and they can contact exporters to request missing information.
|
From page 89... ...
Nonetheless, according to Census, of the data sent from leffersonville to SuitIanc3, the Foreign Trade Division jFTD) rejects about 0.2 percent of the entries containing values of $200,000 or more and about 0.8 percent of the entries of lesser value.
|
From page 90... ...
FOREIGN TRADE DIVISION COMPUTER CAPABIEITIES Monthly FTD processing is performed on a UNISYS 1194 mainframe computer. The monthly export and import data are edited on a flow basis in batches, referred to as "cuts." Generally, cuts
|
From page 91... ...
Various monthly reports, publications, and other special contract tabulations are produced after this monthly "closeout." Currently, the Census Bureau is evaluating the use of microcomputers as potential replacements for selected mainframe activities. FTD has made increasing use of microcomputers since 1983.
|
From page 92... ...
FTD has recently begun to issue monthly export and import data in compact disk format (CD-ROM)
|
From page 93... ...
The Census Bureau and Statistics Canada have compared U.S.
|
From page 94... ...
a series of audits at four international airports: Seattle-Tacoma, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York-Kennedy. On the basis of these audits, the Census Bureau estimated that undercoverage resulting from the failure of exporters or their agents to file the required information was 7.2 percent of the shipping weight of all air export shipments.
|
From page 95... ...
are subject to minimum scrutiny. INADEQUATE REPORTING OF DATA QUALITY The quality of the merchandise trade data and their limitations are inadequately communicated to users.
|
From page 96... ...
shows that, although the trade balance figures are indicative of underlying trends over time, large month-to-month changes can exist without any change in the tren(l. The Census Bureau currently provides no measures of uncertainty to the merchandise trade data.
|
From page 97... ...
However, there are few established formal data management procedures to guide the collection, processing, storage, and dissemination of merchandise trade data, making it difficult for the Customs Service and the Census Bureau to monitor and evaluate their own performance and pinpoint areas of vulnerability for improvement. As noted above, there is at present no accounting of export and import documents before they arrive at Census's leffersonville data processing center.
|
From page 98... ...
BEA also makes adjustments to the Census data to relate changes in merchandise trade to domestic production and income data as shown in the national income and product accounts. The accuracy of foreign trade data clearly concerns many users.
|
From page 99... ...
considered ways to improve the quality of merchandise trade data. IMPROVED DATA QUALITY The need to is well recognized by the Customs Service and the Census Bureau.
|
From page 100... ...
Most of the proposals by the Census Bureau to improve merchandise data quality pertain to quality assurance rather than quality assessment. With the exception of the proposed data reconciliation efforts and the port audits, there are no new initiatives under consideration for quality assessment.
|
From page 101... ...
This approach, even if not fully implemented, would provide valuable information on the feasibility and nature of the data available and on accounting or other record-keeping modifications required to proceed with an establishment survey approach to the collection of some or all of the merchandise trade statistics [see section below, "Use of Sampling Techniques"J.
|
From page 102... ...
A 4-6 month start-up period would be required. A Multipurpose Port Audit Program Although a continuous independent review system would enhance data quality, it would not help for cases in which filers deliberately avoid reporting.
|
From page 103... ...
—~ -- -rat ~ ~~~-r~ ~ Customs and Census should make additional efforts to cultivate and develop a symbiotic relationship with filers. Users should be encouraged to educate the public on the advantages of having reliable trade data and the need to support programs that generate
|
From page 104... ...
trade balance and the country's economic well-being, as well as the reaction of financial markets, may be highly conditioned by newspaper headlines ant] the 20 seconds of airtime on television and radio devoted monthly to the release of trade data.
|
From page 105... ...
Indeed, the manual processing of import and export documents consumes about one-thirc3 of the $16 million annual budget of Census's Foreign Trade Division. More electronic filing of trade documents
|
From page 106... ...
questionnaires. Furthermore, a greatly improved data processing capability would enable Census to treat international trade data, domestic production data, and input data as part of a consistent, coherent body of .
|
From page 107... ...
Automated Export Reporting The capture of data can be automated in the paper-handling process by using various available imaging and character recognition or electronic note-pad technologies. It also can be automated by moving toward an all-electronic system of filing trade documents.
|
From page 108... ...
A forwarder participating in the automated export program for 3 years, who was the only exporter or forwarder in his port to participate, stated that his decision to participate was based on three considerations: his export operations had been computerized 5 or 6 years ago; the trend of all export operations was toward computerization; and steamship companies and exporters were starting to ask for, if not insist on, more computerized handling of data. He suggested that the participation of other forwarders would depend primarily on their current and future use of computers.
|
From page 109... ...
~~ ~ ~ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~^ ~ ~ ~^ ~ ~ ~ v ~~r vim ~—~ rev A recent survey by the National Trade Facilitation Council, a large trade association, indicated many current manual reporters would voluntarily consider converting to electronic filing only if convinced that, despite the initial investment of money and time necessary for the conversion, the system would cut their overhead and personnel costs. Our interviews with foreign government officials suggest that importers and exporters have provided the impetus for the automated trade data reporting systems in their countries.
|
From page 110... ...
introducing probability sampling while substantially reducing the level of detail in which monthly data are published; f2) making substantial efforts to increase the proportion of export transactions reported electronically or in another form that will not require manual data entry; and A)
|
From page 111... ...
The quality measures should permit overall estimates of the quality of the published merchandise trade data and estimates of the quality of specific key processes, such as data collection, coding, editing, imputation, error correction, and revision procedures. Recommendation 4-3 The Census Bureau and the Customs Service should work closely with data filers to evaluate and improve the quality of the incoming trade data.
|
From page 112... ...
Recommendation 4-5 In addition to coordinating with the Customs Service, the Census Bureau should develop mechanisms for comparing Census data with monthly agricultural export data compiled by the Department of Agriculture directly from firms and with monthly of} import data gathered by the Energy Information Administration (EIA' of the Department of Energy directly from oil companies. Agricultural exports and of} imports not only represent two large components of U.S.
|
From page 113... ...
Recommendation 4-13 Probability sampling procedures should be used to the greatest extent possible in the Census Bureau's effort to control and improve the quality of its foreign trade data.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.