SNA_IMP.ASC
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                  Data Source and Coverage


Source of Import Information

The official U.S. import statistics are compiled from copies of the Customs
Service Entry Summary forms which are required to be filed with Customs at
the time the merchandise is released to the importers.  Under the Customs
Service Automated Broker Interface (ABI) system, import brokers may submit
all required import information on their import shipments to Customs through
computer transmission in lieu of filing Entry Summaries.  For these ABI
transactions, Customs submits the import data to the Bureau of the Census on
computer tape.  There are about 750,000 import shipments (Entry Summary) made
each month, of which about 73 percent are made under the ABI system.

The following items of information appearing on Entry Summaries (and ABI
computer tapes) are processed for use in the compilation of the import
statistics.

Entry Type Code.  The type of entry being filed (consumption, warehouse
entry, warehouse withdrawal, etc.).

Entry Date.  The date the goods are released to the importer.  This date is
used as the basis for the statistical month.

Port Code.  The port where the merchandise was entered under an entry permit
(the port where the entry was filed and the merchandise released to the
importer).

Ultimate Consignee.  The State in the ultimate consignee address.

Export Date.  The date on which the carrier departed the last port in the
exporting country.

Country of Origin.  The country of origin is the country of manufacture,
production or growth of any article.  Further work or material added to an
article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order
to render such other country the ``country of origin.''

Mode of Transportation.  The method of transportation by which the imported
merchandise entered the first U.S. port from the last foreign country.  Also
for vessel shipments, whether the merchandise was containerized.

Importing Carrier.  The name of the carrier transporting the merchandise from
the foreign port of lading to the first U.S. port of unlading.

Foreign Port of Lading.  The foreign port at which the merchandise was
actually laden on the vessel that carried the merchandise to the United
States.

U.S. Port of Unlading.  The port at which the merchandise was unladen  from
the importing vessel or aircraft.

Import Date.  The date on which the importing vessel transporting the
merchandise from the foreign country arrived within the limits of the U.S.
port with the intent to unlade.  For merchandise arriving in the United
States other than by vessel, the import date is the date in which the
merchandise arrived within the limits of the United States.

HTSUSA Number.  The reporting number under which the article is classified in
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated.

Gross Weight.  The gross shipping weight in kilograms for articles imported
in vessels and aircraft.

Net Quantity.  The amount in terms of the unit(s) specified in the HTSUSA.

Customs Import Value.(1)

Charges.(1)


Values in Import Statistics


Customs Import Value.  The Customs value reflects the value of imports as
appraised by the U.S. Customs Service in accordance with the legal
requirements of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended.  This value is generally
defined as the price actually paid or payable for merchandise when sold for
exportation to the United States, excluding U.S. import duties, freight,
insurance and other charges incurred in bringing the merchandise to the
United States.

Import Charges.  The import charges represent the aggregate cost of all
freight, insurance and other charges (excluding import duties) incurred in
bringing the merchandise from alongside the carrier at the port of
exportation and placing it alongside the carrier at the first port of entry
in the United States.

C.I.F. Import Value.  The c.i.f. (cost, insurance and freight) value consists
of the Customs value as defined plus all freight, insurance and other charges
(excluding U.S. import duties) incurred inbringing the merchandise from 
alongside the carrier at the port of exportation to the first port of arrival in 
the United States.

Dutiable Value of Imports and Calculated Duty.  The ``dutiable value''
represents in general, the Customs value of foreign merchandise imported into
the United States which is subject to duty.  The ``calculated duty''
represents the estimated duty collected.  Estimated data are calculated by
Census computers based on the applicable rate(s) of duty as shown in the
HTSUSA.


Import Value Conversion

The importer must declare the import value in U.S. dollars.  In those cases
where the value shown on an import invoice is in foreign currency, the
importer must convert it into U.S. dollars.  In making this conversion, the
importer should use the exchange rate as of the first day of the current
quarter.  However, if the exchange rate changes by 5 or more percent during
the current quarter, the importer must use the current daily exchange rate.


Coverage

The statistics compiled and published by the Census Bureau on U.S. imports
are presented in terms of both general imports and imports for consumption.
General imports are a combination of entries for immediate consumption,
entries into Customs bonded warehouses, and entries into U.S. Foreign Trade
Zones, thus generally reflecting total arrival of merchandise.  Imports for
consumption are a combination of entries for immediate consumption,
withdrawals from warehouses for consumption, and entries of merchandise into
U.S. Customs territory from U.S. Foreign Trade Zones, thus generally
reflecting the total of commodities entered into U.S. consumption channels.

Effective October 1989, import statistics are fully compiled on shipments
valued over $1,250 except for textile articles which must be reported on
formal entries when valued over $250.  Value data for shipments valued under
$1,251 (under $251, for textiles) are estimated for individual countries
using factors based on the ratios of low-valued shipments to individual
country totals.  These estimates appear in the statistics as ``Shipments
Under $1,251 (Estimated)'' and are excluded from individual commodities.
Therefore, the statistics for the individual commodity classifications are
undercounted due to the exclusion of data for shipments valued under $1,251
(under $251 for textiles) The total value so excluded amounts to slightly
less than 1 percent of the monthly import total.




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    1The sum of the Customs value and the charges is the c.i.f. (cost,
insurance and freight) value.
*