U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services statistics

[In millions of dollars (617,334 represents $617,334,000,000). Data presented on a balance of payments (BOP) basis and will not agree with the following merchandise trade Tables 1323 to 1331. For information on BOP and terms, see below table]


	Exports		Exports		Exports		Exports		Imports		Imports		Imports		Imports		Trade		Trade		Trade		Trade
																	balance		balance		balance		balance
Category
	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999


Total.....................................................................................	617,334	643,217	703,832	795,647	850,775	938,543	933,907	960,288	656,019	715,156	804,745	895,538	959,349	1,043,273	1,098,189	1,227,863	-38,265	-72,037	-104,381	-99,891	-108,574	-104,730	-164,282	-267,575

Goods.............................................................................................................	440,352	456,832	502,398	575,845	611,983	679,715	670,246	683,221	536,458	589,441	668,590	749,574	803,320	876,366	917,178	1,030,379	-96,106	-132,607	-166,123	-173,729	-191,337	-196,651	-246,932	-347,158
Services.........................................................................................................	176,982	186,385	201,434	219,802	238,792	258,828	263,661	277,067	119,561	125,715	136,155	145,964	156,029	166,907	181,011	197,484	57,842	60,570	61,742	73,838	82,763	91,921	82,650	79,583

Travel...............................................................................................................	54,742	57,875	58,417	63,395	69,751	73,301	71,250	74,448	38,552	40,713	43,782	44,916	48,048	52,051	56,105	60,092	16,190	17,162	14,635	18,479	21,703	21,250	15,145	14,356
Passenger fares..........................................................................................	16,618	16,528	16,997	18,909	20,413	20,789	19,996	21,123	10,603	11,410	13,062	14,663	15,818	18,138	19,797	21,305	6,062	5,298	4,198	4,246	4,595	2,651	199	-182
Other transportation....................................................................................	21,531	21,958	23,754	26,081	26,074	27,006	25,518	27,313	23,767	24,524	26,019	27,034	27,403	28,959	30,457	34,500	-1,768	-2,434	-2,122	-953	-1,329	-1,953	-4,939	-7,187

Royalties and license fees........................................................................	20,841	21,695	26,712	30,289	32,823	33,781	36,808	37,213	5,161	5,032	5,852	6,919	7,854	9,390	11,292	12,437	14,641	15,558	16,754	23,370	24,969	24,391	25,516	24,776
Other private services...............................................................................	50,022	53,975	61,880	65,555	73,073	85,566	92,116	99,357	25,381	29,580	34,588	39,823	43,138	43,909	47,670	51,591	25,604	25,539	28,091	25,732	29,935	41,657	44,446	47,766
Other ¹........................	12,387	13,471	12,787	14,755	15,765	17,561	17,155	16,688	13,835	12,202	10,292	9,986	11,081	11,698	12,841	14,604	-1,448	880	1,963	4,769	4,684	5,863	4,314	2,084
U.S. Government miscellaneous services...........................................................................	841	883	887	818	893	824	818	925	2,263	2,255	2,560	2,623	2,687	2,762	2,849	2,955	-1,440	-1,432	-1,777	-1,805	-1,794	-1,938	-2,031	-2,030

1 Represents transfers under U.S. military sales contracts for exports and direct defense expenditures for imports.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, series FT-900.

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/press.html

* BALANCE OF PAYMENTS (BOP) BASIS

Goods on a Census basis are adjusted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to goods on a BOP basis to bring the data in line with the concepts and definitions used to prepare the international and national accounts. Broadly, the adjustments include changes in ownership that occur without goods passing into or out of the customs territory of the United States. These adjustments are necessary to supplement coverage of the Census basis data, to eliminate duplication of transactions recorded elsewhere in the international accounts, and to value transactions according to a standard definition.

The export adjustments include:

U.S. military sales contracts - This deduction of U.S. military sales contracts is made because the Census Bureau has included these contracts in the goods data, but BEA includes them in the service category "Transfers Under U.S. Military Sales Contracts." BEA's source material for these contracts is more comprehensive, but has no distinction between goods and services.

Private gift parcels. This addition is made for parcels mailed to foreigners by individuals through the U.S. Postal Service. (Only commercial shipments are covered in Census goods exports.)

Gold exports, nonmonetary. This addition is made for gold that is purchased by foreign official agencies from private dealers in the United States and held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The Census data only includes gold that leaves the customs territory.

Some smaller adjustments are also made to exports: Deductions for repairs of goods, developed motion picture film, and military grant-aid. Additions for sales of fish in U.S. territorial waters, exports of electricity to Mexico, and vessels and oil rigs that change ownership for which no export document is filed.

The import adjustments include:

Inland freight in Canada. An addition is made for inland freight in Canada. Imports of goods from all countries are valued at the foreign port of export, including inland freight charges ("customs value"). In the case of Canada, this should be the cost of the goods at the U.S. border. However, the customs value for imports for certain Canadian goods is the point of origin in Canada. The BEA makes an addition for the inland freight charges of transporting these Canadian goods to the U.S. border to make the value comparable to the customs value as reported by all other countries. Insurance and freight charges for transporting goods to the United States from all other countries to the U.S. border are included in services by the BEA. (The same procedure is used for Mexico as an Other Adjustment, but is much smaller.)

Gold imports, nonmonetary. This addition is made for gold sold by foreign official agencies to private purchasers out of stock held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The Census data only includes gold that enters the customs territory.

Imports by U.S. military agencies. This deduction of U.S. military sales contracts is made because the Census Bureau has included these contracts in the goods data, but BEA includes them in the service category "Direct Defense Expenditures". BEA's source material is more comprehensive, but has no distinction between goods and services.

Some smaller adjustments are also made to imports: Deductions for repairs of goods, and developed motion picture film. Additions for imported electricity from Mexico, conversion of vessels for commercial use, and repairs to U.S. vessels abroad, and valuation of prepackaged software imports at market value.

SERVICES

The statistics are estimates of services transactions between foreign countries and the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories and possessions. Transactions with U.S. military, diplomatic, and consular installations abroad are excluded because they are considered to be part of the U.S. economy.

Services are shown in seven broad categories. Types of services for imports and exports are the same for six of the seven categories. For the seventh, exports is "Transfers Under U.S. Military Sales Contracts" while for imports the category is "Direct Defense Expenditures". The following is a brief description of the types of services included in each category:

Travel - Purchases of services and goods by U.S. travelers abroad and by foreign visitors to the United States. A traveler is defined as a person who stays for a period of less than 1 year in a country of which the person is not a resident. Includes expenditures for food, lodging, recreation, gifts, and other items incidental to a foreign visit.

Passenger Fares - Fares paid by residents of one country to residents of other countries. Receipts consist of fares received by U.S. carriers from foreign residents for travel between the United States and foreign countries and between two foreign points. Payments consist of fares paid by U.S. residents to foreign carriers for travel between the United States and foreign countries.

Other Transportation - Charges for the transportation of goods by ocean, air, waterway, pipeline, and rail carriers to and from the United States. Includes freight charges, operating expenses that transportation companies incur in foreign ports, and payments for vessel charter and aircraft rentals with crew. Royalties and License Fees - Transactions with foreign residents involving intangible assets and proprietary rights, such as the use of patents, techniques, processes, formulas, designs, know-how, trademarks, copyrights, franchises, and manufacturing rights. The term "royalties" generally refers to payments for the utilization of copyrights or trademarks, and the term "license fees" generally refers to payments for the use of patents or industrial processes.

Other Private Services - Transactions with affiliated foreigners, for which no identification by type is available, and of transactions with unaffiliated foreigners. (The term "affiliated" refers to a direct investment relationship, which exists when a U.S. person has ownership or control, directly or indirectly, of 10 percent or more of a foreign business enterprise's voting securities or the equivalent, or when a foreign person has a similar interest in a U.S. enterprise.) Transactions with unaffiliated foreigners consist of education services; financial services (includes commissions and other transactions fees associated with the purchase and sale of securities and noninterest income of banks, and excludes investment income); insurance premiums and losses; telecommunications services (includes transmission services and value-added services); and business, professional, and technical services. Included in the last group are advertising services; computer and data processing services; database and other information services; research, development, and testing services; management, consulting, and public relations services; legal services; construction, engineering, architectural, and mining services; industrial engineering services; installation, maintenance, repair of equipment; and other services, including medical services and film and tape rental.

Transfers Under U.S. Military Sales Contracts (Exports only) - Exports of goods and services in which U.S. Government military agencies participate. Includes both goods, such as equipment, and services, such as repair services and training, that cannot be separately identified.

Direct Defense Expenditures (Imports only) - Expenditures incurred by U.S. military agencies abroad, including expenditures by U.S. personnel, payments of wages to foreign residents, construction expenditures, payments for foreign contractual services, and procurement of foreign goods. Includes both goods and services that cannot be separately identified.

U.S. Government Miscellaneous Services - Transactions of U.S. Government nonmilitary agencies with foreign residents. Most of these transactions involve the provision of services to, or purchases of services from, foreigners; transfers of some goods are also included. Services estimates are based on quarterly, annual, and benchmark surveys and partial information generated from monthly reports. Service transactions are estimated at market prices. Estimates are seasonally adjusted when statistically significant seasonal patterns are present. No country or area detail is available due to the lack of adequate source data upon which to base estimates.

*

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/1322_u_s_international_trade_in_goods.html

These tables are based on figures supplied by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and are subject to revision by the Census Bureau.

Copyright © 2006 Photius Coutsoukis and Information Technology Associates, all rights reserved.