| Abreviation | Description |
| Ad valorem equivalent (AVE) | An ad valorem equivalent (AVE) tariff is a tariff presented as a percentage of the value of goods cleared through customs. It is the equivalent of a corresponding specific tariff measure based on unit quantities such as weight, number or volume. There are several methodologies for calculating AVEs. The method chosen depends on the intended application of the data. Most important to the process of calculating an AVE is the way the Unit Value of the product is calculated. The Unit Value is the value of each unit quantity imported of a product. It’s based on the total value of imports of that product. In calculating it, one may use either bilateral trade flows, world imports or a country's imports of that product from a reference group of countries. In addition to being sensitive to the choice of methodology, the ad valorem equivalent will also vary when the price of a product varies. |
| Annual growth over 5 years | The trend is calculated by the logarithmic least squares method. If a country does not report trade data for the reference year (i.e. the year posted on the table with trade indicators), the trend calculation is based on mirror statistics. No trend is calculated in the case where the reporting country data are not available for at least a 4 years period |
| C.I.F. | A trade term (Incoterm) meaning Cost, Insurance and Freight. |
| Comtrade database | A database of trade statistics managed by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). It is the world's largest trade database covering about 90% of world trade. In Trade Map, all the yearly data at 2, 4 and 6-digit level are extracted from Comtrade. |
| Country groups | More than 40 country groups are already defined in Trade Map It is also possible for the Trade Map user to create its own country groups from the individual country list or by modifying the already defined country groups.When you select a group of countries as a criteria in your Trade Map request, you have the option to filter the result table by reporting countries or by partner countries or by product. |
| Currencies | All values store in the database are in US dollars, In the time series approach, it is possible to select any currency. The exchange rate is based on Oanda information www.oanda.com |
| F.O.B. | A trade term (Incoterm) meaning Free on Bord |
| General trade system | The general trade system is in use when the statistical territory of a country coincides with its economic territory. Consequently, under the general trade system, imports include all goods entering the economic territory of a compiling country and exports include all goods leaving the economic territory of a compiling country |
| Harmonized System (HS) | An international nomenclature for the classification of products. It allows participating countries to classify traded goods on a common basis for customs purposes. At the international level, the Harmonized System (HS) for classifying goods is a six-digit code system. The HS comprises approximately 5000 article/product descriptions that appear as headings and subheadings, arranged in 97 chapters, grouped in 21 sections. The six digits can be broken down into three parts. The first two digits (HS-2) identify the chapter the goods are classified in, e.g. 09 = Coffee, Tea, Maté and Spices. The next two digits (HS-4) identify groupings within that chapter, e.g. 09.02 = Tea, whether or not flavoured. The next two digits (HS-6) are even more specific, e.g. 09.02.10 Green tea (not fermented) in immediate packings of a content not exceeding 3 kg. Up to the HS-6 digit level, different countries classification codes are identical. Beyond this, countries are free to introduce national distinctions for tariffs by adding more digits to make the HS classification of products even more specific. This greater level of specificity is referred as the national tariff line level. For example the United States of America adds another four digits to its exports and imports to classify them in greater depth. The Harmonized System was formally known as the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. It was developed by the World Customs Organization and the International Convention on the Harmonized System (HS Convention) entered into force on 1 January 1988 (HS88). It has been adopted by most trading nations. The HS In accordance with the preamble to the HS Convention, which recognized the importance of ensuring that HS be kept up to date in the light of changes in technology or in patterns of international trade, HS is regularly reviewed and revised. The headings and subheadings of HS are accompanied by interpretative rules, and section, chapter and subheading notes, which form an integral part of HS and are designed to facilitate classification decisions in general and to clarify the scope of the particular headings or subheadings. The most recent revision of the Harmonized System came into force on 1st January 2007. See http://www.wcoomd.org |
| HS 1996 or HS Revision 1 | HS1996 or HS revision 1 stands for the 1996 revision of the Harmonized System. HS1996 contains 5,113 subheadings and 1,241 headings, grouped into 97 chapters and 21 sections. As a general rule, goods are arranged in order of their degree of manufacture: raw materials, unworked products, semi-finished products and finished products. For example, live animals fall under Chapter 1, animal hides and skins under Chapter 41 and leather footwear under Chapter 64. The same order also exists within the chapters and headings |
| HS 2002 or HS Revision 2 | HS2002 or HS revision 2 stands for the 2002 revision of the Harmonized System. For each revision, depending on the usage of product codes by customs, some codes are split in new product codes and some others are regrouped in a common code. |
| HS 2007 or HS Revision 3 | HS2007 or HS revision 3 stands for the 2007 revision of the Harmonized System. For each revision, depending on the usage of product codes by customs, some codes are split in new product codes and some others are regrouped in a common code. |
| Mirror data | For countries that do not report trade data to United Nations, ITC uses the partner country data. Mirror statistics is better than no data at all but there have a number of shortcomings. They do not cover trade with other non-reporting countries and mirror statistics invert the reporting standards by valuing exports in cif terms and imports in fob terms. |
| Product groups | It is possible to create three types of product groups in Trade Map: at 2-digit or 4-digit or 6-digit level. The number of products by group is limited to 30 |
| Re-exports | Re-exports are exports of foreign goods in the same state as previously imported; they are to be included in the country exports. They are also recommended to be recorded separately for analytical purposes, which may require the use of supplementary sources of information in order to determine the origin of re-exports, i.e., to determine that the goods in question are indeed re-exports rather than the export of goods that have acquired domestic origin through processing. |
| Re-imports | Re-imports are goods imported in the same state as previously exported; they are to be included in the country imports. They are also recommended to be recorded separately for analytical purposes, which may require the use of supplementary sources of information in order to determine the origin of re-imports, i.e., to determine that the goods in question are indeed re-imports rather than the import of goods that have acquired foreign origin through processing. |
| Special trade system | The special trade system is in use when the statistical territory comprises only a particular part of the economic territory. The special trade system (strict definition) is in use when the statistical territory comprises only the free circulation area, that is, the part within which goods "may be disposed of without customs restriction". Consequently, in such a case, imports include all goods entering the free circulation area of a compiling country, which means cleared through customs for home use, and exports include all goods leaving the free circulation area of a compiling country. However, under the strict definition, goods imported for inward processing and goods which enter or leave an industrial free zone would not be recorded since they would not have been cleared through customs for home use. The compensating products after inward processing also would not be included in exports. Examples of these are when crude petroleum is brought into a country for refining under the inward processing procedure or when non-ferrous base metals are imported and smelted under the same procedure, and the resulting products are exported. From an economic standpoint, however, this kind of industrial activity does not differ from similar activities elsewhere in the economy. For this reason, it is recommended to include such activity in the record of special trade statistics. When this recommendation is applied, a "relaxed" definition of the special trade system is in use; i.e., the special trade system (relaxed definition) is in use when (a) goods that enter a country for or leave it after inward processing and (b) goods that enter or leave an industrial free zone are also recorded and included in international merchandise trade statistics. |
| Tariff line level | Refers to the classification codes, applied to merchandise goods by individual countries, that are longer than the HS six digit level. Countries are free to introduce national distinctions for tariffs and many other purposes. The national tariff line codes are based on the HS system but are longer than six digits. For example, the six digit HS code 010120 refers to Asses, mules and hinnies, live, where as the US National Tariff line code 010120.10 refers to live purebred breeding asses, 010120.20 refers to live asses other than purebred breeding asses and 010120.30 refers to mules and hinnies imported for immediate slaughter. |
| Total | In Trade Map, total represents the online aggregation of the records posted on the pages under review. |
| World estimation | It represents the sum of reporting and non-reporting countries for the selected product. This line gives you an estimation of the world market for the product. This value is pre-calculated and stored in the database. |