2nd Webinar of the International Statistical Classifications Sprint

Summary of the second webinar

7:00 am - 7:15 am (New York time)

Session 1. Opening, welcome and scene setting

• Opening and welcome
• Stefan Schweinfest, Director, United Nations Statistics Division

• Recap from meeting 1
• Presenter: Franklin Assoumou Ndong, Assistant Director, Centre for Statistical and Data Standards, Statistics Canada

7:15 am - 8:25 am

Session 2 - Insights from coordination and collaboration of the international classifications revision process

This session will provide insights into how coordination and collaboration among partners enables the process of updating international classifications and highlight good practices.

• The classifications' revision process: the important role of a European Business Association
• Presentation: The classifications' revision process: The important role of a European Business Association
• Presenter: Roberta Adinolfi, Economic and statistics manager EURATEX

The appropriate identification of a product or activity within an industry classification is crucial for the industry. The presentation will give an overview on the cooperation between the various players, focusing on the different steps of the revision process in the textile & clothing sector. It will also address the resulting challenges and impact on the industry.

• The Review Cycle of the Harmonized System
• Presentation: The review cycle of the harmonized system
• Presenter: Ulla Larsson, Technical Officer Tariff and Trade Affairs, World Customs Organisation

The presenter will speak to the revision process of the Harmonized Systems, with a focus on the benefit of having a regular revision cycle and highlight the good practice of WCO in coordinating and collaborating with the other stakeholders for the HS revision process.

• Harmonized System Code Updates: Statistics Canada's Experience
• Presentation: Harmonized system code updates: Statistics Canada's experience
• Presenter: Chris Maloney, Assistant Director, Statistics Canada

This presentation will cover how HS code updates are managed in Canada, including information on the responsibilities of the various federal government departments involved and an overview of the processes followed. The presentation will highlight challenges faced by Statistics Canada in the oversight of HS code changes, including the need to strike an appropriate balance between stability and relevance in classification systems and the consideration of downstream impacts in the compilation and analysis of statistics. (IATD - Specific presenter TBD).

Discussion (10 minutes)

8:20 am - 9:30 am

Session 3 - Regional perspective on revision cycle

Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will share their experience of collaboration and partnership in developing and maintaining the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which started many years ago and continues, not without challenges, but with a strong commitment to maintain this partnership via the Trilateral Steering Committee (TSC) on the revision of NAICS. This TSC is a permanent committee that meets alternately in each country. The presentation will cover how the three countries work together, as well as how each country adapts the trilateral work at their national level, including during consultations and implementation phases.

Experience of the Trilateral Steering Committee on the revision of the North American Industry Classification (NAICS): A practical success of collaboration

• Presentation: Collaboration and coordination for statistical classification revision at the regional level
• Presenter: Franklin Assoumou Ndong, Assistant director at the Centre for Statistical and Data Standards, Statistics Canada

• Presentation: The experience of Mexico as result of collaboration in the Trilateral Steering Committee on NAICS and NAPCS
• Presenter: Gerardo A. Durand Alcantara , Deputy Director General of Economic Administrative Records, Directorate General Of Economic Statistics, INEGI-MEXICO

• Presentation: U.S. working methods on Economic Classifications - National perspective within the trilateral context
• Presenter: Vincent Russo , Supervisory Economist, Producer Price Index, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Co-chair, US Economic Classification Policy Committee

International classifications for the standardization of economic statistics for Latin America and the Caribbean region

The ECLAC Statistics Division aims to produce comparable economic statistics in the areas of national accounts, prices, international trade and economic surveys. To achieve this objective, it is working to harmonize the official information disseminated by countries of Latin America and the Caribbean using international classifications (ISIC, COICOP, SITC, etc.). This presentation will aim to show the work of standardization and harmonization of information in the mentioned areas focusing on national accounts and economic surveys mainly, addressing the challenges faced and how we are working on them, as well as future steps.

• Presentation: International classifications for the standardization of economic statistics for Latin America and the Caribbean region at ECLAC
• Presenter: Claudia de Camino, Chief of Economic Statistics Unit, ECLAC Statistics Division

Discussion (10 minutes)

9:30 am - 9:50 am

Session 4 - Recommendations on evergreening and a more efficient revision process from the Committee of Experts on International Classifications for more agile and responsive international classifications

• Recommendations from the Committee of Experts of International Classification as well as the results from the Revision Cycle Survey
• Presentation: CEISC Recommendations on Revision Cycle for ISIC and CPC
• Presenter: Julian Chow, Chief of the Business Statistics Section, UNDESA

This presentation highlights the recommendations from the Committee of Experts of International Classification as well as the results from the Revision Cycle Survey.

Discussion (5 minutes)

9:50 am - 10:00 am

Summary and Concluding remarks

• Summary by Claude Macchi, Eurostat