*** U.S. Exports, Harmonized System, 1989-2001 ***



Description:



For 1989-2001, exports to the United States at a disaggregate level

were measured according to the Harmonized System (HS) classification.

These datafiles contain U.S. export data according to their HS number,

distinguished by destination country, and including both quantitative

information about exports and descriptive information about each commodity.



The files EXPYR_1.ASC, EXPYR_2.ASC, and EXPYR_3.ASC contain U.S. export 

data for 1989-2001, sorted by HS number, with YR = {a two digit

number in the range 89-01}.  The first of these files, EXPYR_1.ASC,

includes commodities with a HS number beginning with 0-3; the second,

EXPYR_2.ASC, contains those commodities with a HS number beginning

with 4-7; and the third, EXPYR_3.ASC, contains those commodities with a

HS number beginning with 8 or 9.





Record Layout:



The variables included are:



columns 1-10    -  Harmonized System (HS) number

columns 12-17   -  Country code

                    United Nations codes are used (see COUNTRY.TXT)

columns 19-26   -  Country name

columns 28-31   -  1987 version export-based SIC number (4-digit)

columns 33-37   -  Revision 2 SITC number (5 digit)

columns 39-43   -  Revision 3 SITC number (5 digit)

columns 45-50   -  North American Classification System (NAICS) code (6-digit)

columns 52-54   -  Units of quantity (see UNIT8901.TXT)

columns 56-67   -  Quantity

columns 69-80   -  Value of exports (dollars)

		   (The value does not include re-exports, as discussed below)

columns 82-131  -  Description of HS commodity

                   (50 character short description from CONEXP89_01.ASC)

columns 133-135 -  Year (89 – 101) 







Missing Values:



Missing values for any alphabetic variable are indicated by a blank field,

as occurs especially for the Units of quantity, indicating that either the

units could not be measured, or were simply missing.  When the units could

not be measured, there will be a zero value for Quantity, but positive

entries for Value.



Special Considerations:



1. Export statistics are compiled by the Census according to two types:

D (Domestic) or F (Foreign).  Domestic exports are defined as merchandise

grown, produced, or manufactured (including imported merchandise which has

been enhanced in value) in the United States  Foreign exports are defined as

merchandise that has entered the United States and is being re-exported in

the same condition as when imported.   



Only the Domestic exports are included in this data; foreign exports, i.e.

re-exports, are not included.  



2.  The export value is the selling price or cost if not sold, including inland 

freight, insurance, and other charges to the U.S. port of export, but excluding

unconditional discounts and commissions.  This value is called the F.a.s.

(free alongside ship) value. 



3. The 1987 export-based SIC numbers are not the same as the SIC numbers

used to identify U.S. industries.  This is because industries in the

United States are sometimes defined in terms of the precessing that occurs

in them, whereas the method of processing may not be known to the

exporter.  As a result, a condensed set of SIC numbers called "export

based SIC" are used, as discussed further in the main documentation.



4.  It should be noted that the HS numbers for any commodity change

over time, so the only sure way to keep track of a given commodity is by

its full alphabetic description.





Related Files:





A complete list of the commodities, including the HS number for each,

1987 export-based SIC numbers (4-digit), Rev. 3 SITC number (5-digit),

ENDUSE classification, NAICS classification, units of quantity,

and the first and last years that the HS number is used for that

commodity, is contained in the concordance CONEXP89_01.ASC, which is

described in CONEXP89_01.TXT.



The source country for each exported commodity is identified by the

name and United Nations (UN) code.  The complete list of names and

UN codes, along with a correspondence to the country codes used by

the U.S. Census, is provided in COUNTRY.TXT.



For years before 1989, exported commodities are identified by the

Schedule B numbers.  A concordance of these numbers is contained in

CONEXP78_88.ASC, as described in CONEXP78_88.TXT.  A cross-reference between

the Schedule B and HS numbers is contained in HS_SCH_B.ASC, as described

in HS_SCH_B.TXT.





Size:  Each file EXP*.ASC is between 9 and 20 megabytes.





Sources:



The data for 1989 was obtained from:



National Archives and Record Administration, Annual Export Databank,

EA645, Record group 29, Washington, D.C. [magnetic tape], 1989.



U.S. Exports History and U.S. Imports History, Historical Summary 1989-1992,

on CD-ROM [machine-readable data file], prepared by the Bureau of the Census.

Washington: The Bureau [producer and distributor], 1993.



Data for 1990 and later years were obtained from:



U.S. Exports and Imports of Merchandise on CD-ROM [machine-readable data file],

prepared by the Bureau of the Census. Washington: The Bureau

[producer and distributor], 1990-2001.



The same data in printed form are reported in:



U.S. Exports, Harmonized System, Commodity by Country, FT447,

Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C., 1989-2001.





Additional information on the variables listed above can be obtained from:



Guide to Foreign Trade Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Department

of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1991.





Web:    http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/index.html

        http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/schedules.html#C

	http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/guide/index.html