Explanatory Notes — Types of Trade Statistics
International trade is the purchase and sale of goods or services between residents of different countries. The traders may be individuals, private businesses or government agencies.
Traditionally, the focus has been on merchandise trade which refers to the exchange of goods, products or commodities passing through customs. However, in recent years, the importance of trade in services has been recognized. To measure the latter, one has to shift the focus to the flow of money between residents of different countries.
Customs vs. Balance of Payment Based Trade Statistics
The principal difference between the two trade concepts is that:
- Customs-based trade statistics cover the physical movement of goods as they are reflected on customs documents. Thus, they only cover merchandise trade. Various product coding systems are used to classify the traded goods.
- Balance of Payments (BOP)-based trade statistics are based on the flow of money. The balance of payments (BOP) is an accounting of a country's international transactions over a certain time period, typically a calendar quarter or year. It shows the sum of the transactions (purely financial ones, as well as those involving goods or services) between individuals, businesses, and government agencies in that country and those in the rest of the world.
Thus, these statistics cover both merchandise trade and trade in services.
Example
Every international transaction results in a credit and a debit. Transactions that cause money to flow into a country are credits, and transactions that cause money to leave a country are debits.
For instance, if someone in Canada buys a South Korean stereo, the purchase is a debit to the Canadian account and a credit to the South Korean account. If a Brazilian company sends an interest payment on a loan to a bank in the United States, the transaction represents a debit to the Brazilian BOP account and a credit to the United States BOP account.
Adjusted current account data are intended to cover all economic transactions between residents and non-residents, which involve merchandise trade, but will also cover trade in services. This information is available at an aggregate level only.
It should be noted that no data on a BOP basis is available in Trade Data Online.
Information on Canada's international trade on a Balance of Payment (BOP) basis is published by Statistics Canada
- Exports of Goods by Product (BOP Basis)
- Imports of Goods by Product (BOP Basis)
- Imports and Exports of Goods by Country (BOP Basis)
The U.S. Census Bureau also publishes similar data
BOP-based trade statistics are frequently seasonally adjusted and usually not comparable to merchandise trade data.
| National Economy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Goods Sectors (5 recognized under NAICS classification) |
Services Sectors (15 recognized under NAICS classification) |
|
| Produces mainly Goods |
Produces mainly Services |
|
| Trade can be tracked through the |
Trade can be tracked through the |
|
| Flow of goods (merchandise) through border Customs-based Merchandise Trade |
Flow of money between residents and non-residents BOP-based Merchandise Trade |
Flow of money between residents and non-residents BOP-based Trade in Services |
| Detailed information available Trade Data Online |
Aggregate information only |
Aggregate information only |
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