Background Information for U.S. Agricultural Trade Data
What is the Harmonized System (HS) of trade
codes?
How does the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
(HTS) of the United States differ from the international
HS code?
What is FATUS and USDA's role in U.S. trade
data?
Where can I access
U.S. agricultural trade data?
Where are release dates for U.S. trade data?
Codes, Abbreviations, and Summary Categories for High-Value
Products
How do I know if a FATUS group includes
a particular HTS code?
How do I find the 10-digit U.S. HTS code
for my commodity?
Where are the data for my HTS code?
Which abbreviations are most commonly used
in U.S. trade data?
What is the difference between "high-value"
(HVP) and "consumer-oriented" trade and where
do I find these breakouts of U.S. agricultural trade?
Definitions, Country Codes, Ports, Tariffs, Commodity
Classifications, and Lists of Traders
Where is a detailed description of what
is included in U.S. trade data?
Where are U.S. country codes listed?
Where are U.S. and foreign ports?
How do I find tariffs for a commodity?
How do I properly classify my commodity?
I wish to trade with the United States or
I need a list of U.S. traders of a particular commodity;
where do I obtain this information?
Background Information for
U.S. Agricultural Trade Data
Q. What is the Harmonized System
(HS) of trade codes?
A. The International Harmonized Commodity Coding
and Classification System (HS) was established by the
World Customs Organization. HS is an international standard
for world trade at a 6-digit level of detail. For example,
10=cereals, 1005=corn, 1005.90=other corn. Each country
has the option of further breaking down these international
HS codes into more digits and greater detail to meet their
own needs.
Other international or multilateral trade coding systems
exist. These include: 1) the Standard International Trade
Classification (SITC) codes used by the United Nations,
and 2) the old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
used in the United States and the new North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) used by North American Free
Trade Agreement member countries (Canada, Mexico, and
the United States) to classify industrial goods. These
codes all are standardized at six digits, but also can
be made more detailed by individual countries.
Concordances between these other systems and the HS system
or the HTS system used in the United States can be found
on the U.S.
Census Bureau and U.S.
International Trade Commission websites.
Q. How does the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule (HTS) of the United States differ from the international
HS code?
A. For describing trade, the United States chose
to use 10-digit codes at the most detailed level. This
set of 10-digit trade codes is known as the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). It is based
on the International HS standard and was introduced in
U.S. trade on January 1, 1989. It further refines the
6-digit international HS standard. For example: 10=cereals,
1005=corn, 1005.90=other corn, 1005.90.2020=U.S. no. 1
yellow dent corn.
Q. What is FATUS and USDA's role
in U.S. trade data?
A. USDA has been mandated by Congress to define
those U.S. HTS codes constituting agriculture and to provide
the public with statistics on U.S. agricultural trade.
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and ERS are
jointly responsible for defining and maintaining U.S.
agricultural trade data. Since about 1926, USDA has maintained
the Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS)
database to fulfill this responsibility to Congress.
FATUS is a system of 213 trade codes created by USDA
for the purpose of summarizing U.S. agricultural trade
in a form most usable by the public. FATUS combines the
several thousand (>4,000 import and >2,000 export)
10-digit U.S. HTS codes from the U.S. Census Bureau, which
USDA defines as "agricultural," into these usable
groupings. FAS' U.S.
Trade Internet System contains information on the
country
composition of FATUS regions and the HTS content of
FATUS commodity groups for exports
and imports.
Q. Where can I access U.S.
agricultural trade data?
A. Monthly U.S. agricultural trade data from 1989 forward,
including both FATUS and HTS codes, are available online
from FAS's U.S.
Trade Internet System. Choose FATUS
imports or FATUS
exports. For directions on how to use the U.S. Trade
Internet System, see FAS's Trade
Manual.
Historical FATUS data for 1976-88 are available electronically
from ERS by special request. These data are by FATUS groupings
only; data by HTS code are not available. Indicate your
data needs: (1) exports, imports, or both; (2) quantity,
value, or both; (3) by month, calendar year, or fiscal
year; (4) total U.S. trade or by country of destination/source;
and (5) the years and countries you desire. Please limit
data requests to a reasonable size.
Q. Where are release dates for U.S.
trade data?
A. The U.S.
Census Bureau is the official source of the monthly
release schedule.
Codes, Abbreviations, and Summary
Categories for High-Value Products
Q. How do I know if a FATUS group
includes a particular HTS code?
A. FAS' U.S.
Trade Internet System contains information on the
HTS content of FATUS commodity groups for exports
and imports.
Click on a commodity group to see the codes within the
group.
Q. How do I find the 10-digit U.S.
HTS code for my commodity?
A. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC)
is responsible for maintaining the 10-digit code list
for U.S. imports. See the USITC's
HTS schedule. The U.S. Census Bureau maintains the
list of HTS 10-digit codes for exports called Schedule
B.
Q. Where are the data for my HTS
code?
A. FAS' U.S.
Trade Internet System has U.S. agricultural trade
data by HTS code and by month from 1989 forward.
USITC also has U.S. trade data by 10-digit HTS code for
both exports and imports in a searchable form back to
January 1989 by country, Customs District, and month.
Create your own free account and search USITC's
trade dataweb.
Q. Which abbreviations are most commonly
used in U.S. trade data?
A. Common abbreviations include:
DOZ - dozen (12)
HL - hectoliters (26.4 U.S. gallons)
MT - metric tons (2,204.6 pounds)
NA - not applicable
NO - number
PC - pieces
TH - thousands
US $ - U.S. dollars
FR - fresh
FZ - frozen
Prep - prepared or preparations
Pres - preserved
Ch - chilled
Ed - edible
Ex - excluding
In - including
Prods - products
W/nt - whether or not
NESOI - not elsewhere specified or included
See also FAS'
Abbreviations for Units of Quantity and the Census
Bureau's conversion tables for additional abbreviations.
The Census tables also contain conversion factors from
English to metric units.
Q. What is the difference between
"high-value" (HVP) and "consumer-oriented"
trade and where do I find these breakouts of U.S. agricultural
trade?
A. These terms refer to two different breakouts
of U.S. agricultural trade used by ERS and FAS. Neither
USDA agency provides data on both. Two differing methods
provide users a choice.
ERS breaks U.S. agricultural trade into two large categories—bulk
and high-value products. ERS data on bulk and high-value products are available on a fiscal and calendar basis.
FAS breaks U.S. agricultural trade into three large categories—bulk,
intermediate, and consumer-oriented (BICO) products.
BICO data are one of the choices in FAS' U.S.
Trade Internet System.
Definitions of bulk commodities are identical between
the two USDA agencies, so FAS' intermediate plus its consumer-oriented
series should equal ERS' high-value data.
Definitions, Countries, Ports, Tariffs, Commodity Classifications,
and Lists of Traders
Q. Where is a detailed description
of what is included in U.S. trade data?
A. For definitions and descriptions of official
U.S. trade data, see the U.S. Census Bureau's Description
of the Foreign Trade Statistics Program.
Q. Where are U.S. country codes listed?
A. The U.S. Census Bureau provides a list of country
trade codes (Schedule
C). FAS' U.S.
Trade Internet System also contains a list of individual
countries and FATUS
country groups.
For more information about individual countries and lists
of alternative country codes, see the U.S. State Department's
Fact
Sheet on Independent States in the World and the Central
Intelligence Agency's World
Factbook.
Q. Where are U.S. and foreign ports?
A. The U.S. Census Bureau provides a list of U.S. trade
ports (Schedule
D). The Army Corps of Engineers maintains a list of
foreign ports (Schedule
K).
Q. How do I find tariffs for a commodity?
A. The global tariff information ERS has is presented
in the WTO agricultural
trade policy commitments database on tariff levels.
Bound and annual applied tariff data for World Trade Organization
(WTO) members are presented in a set of commodity aggregates.
These aggregates allow comparison across countries of
average levels of tariff protection. The data on tariff-rate
quotas are presented at the level of aggregation specified
by WTO members in their market access schedules. See the
ERS WTO briefing room and
the Agricultural
Market Access Database for additional information.
FAS also has world tariff data on its website. See import
programs or trade
policy.
For U.S. tariff information, see the U.S. International
Trade Commission's Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States.
Q. How do I properly classify my
commodity?
A. Duty and classification information is available
from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). See the Contacts page on the CBP website for more information.
Q. I wish to trade with the United
States or I need a list of U.S. traders of a particular
commodity; where do I obtain this information?
A. ERS does not have this type information. Specific
U.S. trade information is reported to the Federal Government
by individual U.S. companies with the understanding that
it is proprietary and will be protected. FAS'
U.S. Exporter Assistance contacts provide information
to U.S. agricultural exporters and can be of some help
to U.S. agricultural importers.
The United States also has numerous trade associations
for individual commodities. Many U.S. companies trading
a particular commodity are members of one of these associations.
These associations usually will provide information. Search
for them on the Internet.
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