Explanatory Notes — Product

For all practical purposes, in Trade Data Online, the terms "products, goods, commodities" and "merchandise" are considered synonymous and are largely used interchangeably - although the term "product" is the one employed.

The basic selections available are:

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Total - All Products

This will give the total values for imports and exports (recorded at the border by Customs) of all products entering/leaving Canada or the United States

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Specific Products

One or more specific products can be selected using the different methods outlined below.

The products are classified according to the international Harmonized System (HS). This product classification is discussed in a separate section. It covers more than 5000 different products which are described in 96 chapters. Each chapter (covering a general area, e.g. Chapter 69 - Ceramic Products) is further divided into headings and sub-headings. Numerical HS codes with 2, 4 and 6 digits are used to describe the various levels of this hierarchical classification.

• Keyword Search

  This will call a window where specific products can be identified and selected through a keyword search applied against the product descriptions as well as a thesaurus of synonyms and related terms.

• Code Search

  This will call a window where specific products can be identified and selected through a code search applied against the numeric HS code. A maximum of 6-digits can be entered. This is most useful for those familiar with the HS product classification.

• Browse List

  This will call a window where specific products can be identified by browsing through the list of HS sections and chapters. These can be chosen in their entirety or the "Drilldown" option can be used to view and select the 6-digits HS codes contained in each section or chapter.

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Top 25

There are 3 possible selections, all based on a ranking in terms of the dollar value of imports or exports.

• Top 25 Products - HS6 codes;
• Top 25 Product Groups - HS4 codes;
• Top 25 Chapters - HS2 codes.

In all cases the ranking is based on the values for the most recent year.

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Multiple Product Selection

Multiple selections can be made through keyword or code searches or by using the browse list option.

In the reports generated from these selections, the data can either be:

• summed for all the product codes grouped together; or
• shown individually for each selected product code.

The choices made using one selection method (e.g. browse list) are retained in memory if a different search method (e.g. keyword search) is later employed. This gives the ability to build and modify lists of selected codes using different techniques in the course of a session.