It’s easy for first-time and novice users to become overwhelmed by USA Trade Online’s massive databases of merchandise trade data, not to mention the variety of options available to help analyze the data. This QuickStart Guide lays out the basics and carries you through five easy steps to self-sufficiency. So, What Exactly is in this Database? USA Trade Online contains merchandise export and import data between the United States and all its trading partners. Commodities are classified by Harmonized System (HS) codes, which are defined on the two-, four-, six-, and ten-digit levels. Additionally, unit of measure and customs district detail are available. You’ll also find annual data going back 13 years and monthly data since 2002. Port-level detail are available beginning in 2003. The software which powers USA Trade Online - Beyond 20/20's Vista 2.3 - presents data in spreadsheet format. Here’s the exciting part: YOU determine what type of data (called “dimensions”) populates the rows and columns using the Selection Criteria! A simple table might look like this: