Selected data sources for international trade and finance statistics - Focus on Statistics - Directory

Business Economics, April, 2002 by Ralph H. Kozlow

Numerous U.S. government agencies and international organizations are involved in collecting or publishing statistics on international trade and finance. Organizations that provide frequently requested data are listed below, along with brief summaries of the types of data or information that they provide, and their Web site addresses.

U.S. Government

Department of Commerce

1. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) (1) provides data on the International Transactions Accounts (quarterly), the International Investment Position of the United States (annually), GDP (quarterly estimates are released monthly), and U.S. direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in the U.S. (quarterly, annually, and quinquennially). BEA also prepares annual and benchmark input-output accounts as well as the travel and tourism satellite account. For some components of international trade (particularly selected services), it calculates price indices used to develop constant dollar or "real" estimates. BEA also prepares analytical articles on these topics. With the Bureau of the Census (Census), it issues the monthly press release on goods and services trade. Also with Census, BEA releases establishment-level industry detail on foreign direct investment in the United States (quinquennially)

www.bea.gov

2. Bureau of the Census tabulates data on exports and imports of goods (monthly) and, with BEA, issues the monthly release on goods and services trade. It prepares monthly and other studies of goods exports, including publications on goods exports by state, and on U.S. employment supported by goods exports. Also, for services industries, it collects data on revenues from foreign sales (quinquennially).

www.census.gov

3. U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA) is responsible for administering the voluntary survey of international travelers (on-going, tabulated monthly), which provides data on expenditures and country of destination. It also conducts analytical studies of individual industries and foreign countries. ITA promotes trade, including assistance to exporters, and develops and administers trade agreements and policies.

www.tinet.ita.doc.gov and

www.trade.gov/td/tic and

www.ita. doc.gov

Department of the Treasury

4. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Statistics of Income Division prepares tabulations of statistical data and tax studies, including foreign source income and use of foreign tax credits, based on a sample of tax returns.

www.irs.gov (click on Tax Statistics)

5. U.S. Customs Service (Customs) collects data on goods exports and imports, which are processed, tabulated, and released by the Census.

www.customs.ustreas.gov

6. Treasury International Capital Reporting System. The Department of Treasury has legal authority for collecting data on international portfolio investment flows and positions, under the Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting system. It has entrusted operational responsibility for the TIC system to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as discussed below.

www.ustreas.gov/tic

Federal Reserve System and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council

7. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) publishes the quarterly Flow of Funds Accounts (which contain data on all sectors of the economy, including international transactions). Also, it issues data on foreign exchange rates (updated daily) and produces monthly releases on U.S. reserve assets and foreign official assets held at federal reserve banks.

www.federalreserve.gov

(click on Research and Data)

8. Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) administers the TIC reporting system for the Treasury. The TIC reporting system covers monthly and quarterly data on international financial flows. It also collects benchmark survey data on portfolio investment asset and liability positions. (Benchmark surveys of portfolio investment assets and liabilities are expected to become annual data collections beginning no later than for 2003.)

www.ny.ftb.org

9. Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) is a formal interagency body that prescribes standards, report forms, and the like for the federal examination of financial institutions. Its members are the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision. It issues the quarterly country exposure lending survey (filed by banking institutions).

www.ffiec.gov

Other U.S. Government Departments or Organizations

10. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is responsible for providing import and export price data. It prepares separate monthly price indexes for imports and exports of major categories of goods and services trade. For imports, data by geographic region are also available. Its Foreign Labor Statistics Program provides international comparisons for key labor market variables.

www.bls.gov

11. U.S. Department of Agriculture (DoA) provides annual and monthly data on U.S. and world agricultural trade, including data by type of commodity. It also conducts analytical studies on agricultural issues.