United States of America Metadata on International Merchandise Trade Statistics

Comtrade Explanatory Notes
Metadata on (i) Trade System, (ii) Trade Valuation, (iii) Commodity Classification, (iv) Trading Partners (Origin/LastKnownDestination), and (v) Exchange Rate.

http://comtrade.un.org/db/mr/daExpNoteDetail.aspx?r=842  

National Compilation and Reporting Practices (NCDP)
The Trade Statistics Branch of the United Nations Statistics Division has conducted national compilation and reporting practices surveys in 2006 and 1996. They contain metadata, inter alia, on coverage, trade system, commodity classification, valuation, quantity measurement, and partner country.
2006 Survey: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/tradereport/countryform_MM.asp?cid=840
1996 Survey: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/tradereport/countryform.asp?cid=840
A summary of the surveys and comparison between 2006 and 1996 results, as far as possible, are available on the main page:

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/tradereport/introduction_MM.asp 

Comtrade Publication Notes
Information as to when and from where data was received:

http://comtrade.un.org/db/mr/daPubNoteDetail.aspx?r=842

http://comtrade.un.org/db/mr/daPubNoteDetail.aspx?r=841 (Before 1981)


Information on Population Scope/Item Coverage from OECD

OECD metadata on population scope and items coverage of international trade:

http://stats.oecd.org/OECDStat_Metadata/ShowMetadata.ashx?Dataset=HS1988&Coords=%5bREPORTER%5d.%5bUSA%5d&Lang=en&backtodotstat=false



Responsible Agency, National WebPages for Data and Metadata 

• Responsible agency and national web page: U.S. Census Bureau

   http://www.census.gov/ 
• Data: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html  
• Metadata: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/guide/sec2.html

IMF Data Dissemination Standards GDDS/SDDS on Merchandise Trade 
The IMF's data dissemination standards consist of two tiers: the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), which would apply to all Fund members, and the more advanced Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), for those member countries having or seeking access to international capital markets. In general, a country subscribes to either GDDS or SDDS.
SDDS provides information on Trade Data Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness, Access by the Public, Integrity, Quality as well as Contact Persons. http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/sddscountrycategorylist/?strcode=USA

Additional Information about Country Metadata

Other information regarding the metadata provided by the country:


Guide to Foreign Trade Statistics



For concepts and definitions, please go to the Glossary of this Knowledgebase. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/tradekb/Glossary/. 

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