Most of the estimates in this article are based on surveys conducted by BEA. However, the estimates for some services are based on a variety of other sources, including surveys conducted by other Federal Government agencies, data provided by private sources, customs data, and data obtained from partner countries.
BEA's surveys of cross-border transactions with unaffiliated foreigners cover the following six categories of services: (1) Selected services (mainly miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services), (2) construction, engineering, architectural, and mining services, (3) insurance, (4) financial services, (5) royalties and license fees, and (6) transportation. Each of these categories is covered by a separate survey or by a group of surveys; for transportation, four surveys are conducted, differentiated by mode of transport and by residency of carrier. BEA is preparing a publication that describes the methodologies for these surveys.
Data on cross-border transactions with affiliated foreigners and on sales by majority-owned affiliates are collected in BEA's surveys of U.S. direct investment abroad and of foreign direct investment in the United States; the methodologies for these surveys are described in U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: 1989 Benchmark Survey, Final Results (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992) and in Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: 1992 Benchmark Survey, Final Results (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995).
For information on the methodology for the estimates of cross-border transactions—both affiliated and unaffiliated—and on the balance-of-payments concepts, see The Balance of Payments of the United States: Concepts, Data Sources, and Estimating Procedures (Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990). For changes in methodology that have been made since 1990, see the section "Technical Notes" in the quarterly articles on the U.S. international transactions in the June 1990 and 1991 issues of the SURVEY and the section "Revised Estimates for 1976–91" in the June 1992 issue. Also see the annual articles on the revised estimates of U.S. international transactions in the June 1992–95 issues and in the July 1996 and 1997 issues.