Order Code 98-536 C
Updated March 15, 2001
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
U.S. Merchandise Trade Statistics: 1948-2000
J. Michael Donnelly
Information Research Specialist
Information Research Division
Summary
U.S. trade has been increasing in volume and value since the end of World War II.
Merchandise trade statistics provide a continuous series to measure that growth in trade.
Official annual trade statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provided here,
show that for the 52 years between 1948 and 2000, merchandise exports grew by over
61 times. During this period, merchandise imports grew by over 171 times. Also during
this period, the U.S. merchandise trade balance moved from a surplus in 1948 to a deficit
in 1971. The deficit exceeded $100 billion for the first time in 1984, surpassed $200
billion in 1998 and $300 billion in 1999, and grew beyond $400 billion in 2000. U.S.
merchandise imports exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in 1999. This report contains
preliminary year 2000 merchandise trade statistics, and will be updated quarterly, or as
events warrant.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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CRS-2
Merchandise Trade Versus Trade in Goods and Services
Merchandise trade statistics are referred to as Census basis statistics, since they are
collected, compiled, and distributed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. This is the data
reported here, and constitutes the one continuing data series using largely uniform
definitions. Merchandise trade statistics are important because they alone are the basis for
commodity and country trade information.

In January 1994 the U.S. Department of Commerce began reporting and publishing
trade data on goods and services as the benchmark monthly trade statistic, replacing
merchandise trade data. Previously services trade estimates were compiled by the Bureau
of Economic Analysis on a balance of payments (BOP) basis. To harmonize Census
merchandise data with Bureau of Economic Analysis services data, statistics on goods and
services are reported on a balance of payments basis. This involves such changes as
deducting U.S. military sales from merchandise accounts, since they are considered
services transactions, and adding to merchandise statistics parcels mailed to foreigners by
individuals in the United States. What this means is that the goods component of trade in
goods and services is different from the goods measured in merchandise trade statistics.
Definitions in Merchandise Trade
Merchandise trade is trade in goods only, not services, and excludes capital
transfers and foreign investments. Exports are defined here as total exports; they
include both domestically-produced goods and re-exports, which constitute imports of
goods which are warehoused here, then re-exported. Imports are defined here as general
imports, which measure total arrivals of goods into the United States—imports for both
immediate consumption channels and warehouses. Balance of merchandise trade is
defined as total exports minus general imports. Dollar amounts are current U.S. dollars,
that is, official statistics with no inflation adjustment, expressed in millions.
Valuation methods define where in a trade transaction the value of a good is
measured. As goods move in international trade, they acquire more costs. An automobile
has one cost at the end of its assembly line, but a higher cost when shipping and insurance
to a local dealer or port for export are added. For this report we follow current official
U.S. government valuation practice:
! total exports are valued free alongside or FAS. FAS figures provide
valuation of exports at the port of exportation, and thus exclude charges
for loading onto the vessel, the transportation itself, insurance, unloading
and foreign transportation.
! general imports are valued on Customs valuation. Customs valuation
for imports excludes costs of international transportation and insurance,
as well as tariffs, and is therefore quite similar to FAS valuation. Customs
valuation for imports replaced FAS valuation in U.S. government
statistics in 1982.

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CRS-3
Recent Annual Trade Trends
In the latest complete single year, 2000, U.S. exports increased by $87 billion, or 13%,
to $782 billion. Imports increased by $192 billion, or 19%, to $1,217 billion. These
statistics resulted in the U.S. merchandise trade deficit increasing $106 billion, or roughly
32%, to $434 billion. The merchandise trade deficit has now grown by $100 billion a year
for the past two years.
In the 6-year span from 1995 through 2000, exports expanded 34%, from $585 billion
to $782 billion, while imports grew 64%, from $744 to $1,217 billion. This resulted in the
trade deficit almost tripling from $159 billion to $434 billion.
U.S. Merchandise Trade
1995 - 2000 prel.
1500
1250
1000
750
500
250
$ In Billions
0
-250
-500
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
Years
Exports
Imports
Balance
Where to Find Trade Statistics
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division,
or FTD, collects and publishes official U.S. merchandise export and import statistics. FTD
is now publishing this data digitally on the Internet, and on CD-ROM, as well as in printed
format. A single CD-ROM is published monthly for U.S. Exports of Merchandise, and a
separate single CD-ROM for U.S. Imports of Merchandise. Both are organized by
Harmonized Tariff System of the United States, (HTS) classification by country, then by
customs district. Also available in CD-ROM format are U.S. Imports History, Historical
5-Year Summary, and U.S. Exports History, Historical 5-Year Summary, also organized
by HTS by country, then by customs district. FTD’s newest products include a one-disc
monthly CD-ROM combining both export and import data with improved software, and
customized Selected Commodity Subscription Service, or SCSS. A subscription to SCSS
could tell you about, for example, golf club imports. These and other FTD products may
be obtained by calling (301) 457-2311 or visiting FTD on the Internet at
[http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/].
Internet Sources of Data
Sources of data on the Internet are becoming more reliable and easier to access.

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CRS-4
! U.S. Bureau of the Census provides the full text of the monthly FT-900
plus the FT-900 Supplement and more international trade statistics plus
their Guide to Foreign Trade Statistics at the Census Bureau’s FTD
Foreign Trade Home Page:
[http://www.census.gov:80/foreign-trade/www/press.html].
! STAT-USA Internet is a subscription service of the U.S. Department of
Commerce which provides the FT-900 and the FT-900 Supplement as well
as exports and imports by commodity and by country. Trade data on
STAT-USA Internet [http://www.stat-usa.gov/] is in the National Trade
Data Bank, or NTDB section under the headings “International Trade
Statistics” and “Current Press Release.” The NTDB is also available in CD-
ROM format in libraries nationwide. STAT-USA Internet is available free
in all federal depository libraries. Individual subscriptions to STAT-USA
Internet are also available at [http://www.stat-usa.gov/].Office of Trade and
Economic Analysis of the International Trade Administration in the U.S.
Department of Commerce provides annual country breakdowns for U.S.
exports and imports in a section titled “United States Foreign Trade
H i g h l i g h t s , ” a n d s t a t e e x p o r t d a t a a t :
[http://www.ita.doc.gov/industry/otea].
Printed Sources of Data
! United States Department of Commerce News. U.S. International Trade
in Goods and Services, series FT-900, is the benchmark, official monthly
press release which reports the latest month’s statistics and revises the
previous month’s statistics. Statistics in this report are on both a Census
and balance of payments (BOP) basis. The December issue provides the
first estimate of annual trade totals, and now first appears in March. Final
annual revisions are normally released in the June data release of each year,
which normally appears in August. The Department of Commerce also
publishes U.S. Merchandise Trade: Monthly FT-900 Supplement. The
FT-900 Supplement reports U.S. imports of merchandise on both a
customs and CIF (cost, insurance, and freight) valuation basis. Both the
FT-900 and the FT-900 Supplement are available in print by subscription
from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402, telephone (202) 512-2303.
! Economic Indicators, a monthly statistical magazine prepared for the Joint
Economic Committee by the Council of Economic Advisers, contains
summary trade data. The table titled “U.S. International Trade in Goods
and Services,” on page 35 each month, contains data on both a balance of
payments and Census basis. Economic Indicators is available by
subscription from the U.S. Government Printing Office.
! Economic Report of the President, published annually in February, contains
tables which provide merchandise trade statistics on both a Census and
BOP basis.

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CRS-5
Table 1. Annual Change in U.S. Merchandise Trade: Exports, Imports, and Balance—1948-2000 Est.
(Census basis as of 03/01; values in U.S. current millions of dollars)
U.S. Merchandise
U.S. Merchandise
Change From
Change From
Change From
Change From
U.S. Merch. Trade
Change From
YEAR
EXPORTS
IMPORTS
Previous Year
Previous Year
Previous Year
Previous Year
BALANCE
Previous Year
F.A.S. Value
Customs Value
1948
12,653.1
—
—
7,123.9
—
—
5,529.2
—
1949
12,051.1
-602.0
-4.8%
6,622.3
-501.6
-7.0%
5,428.8
-100.4
1950
9,992.9
-2,058.2
-17.1%
8,852.2
2,229.9
33.7%
1,140.7
-4,288.1
1951
13,967.4
3,974.5
39.8%
10,967.3
2,115.1
23.9%
3,000.1
1,859.4
1952
13,203.0
-764.4
-5.5%
10,717.5
-249.8
-2.3%
2,485.5
-514.6
1953
12,262.4
-940.6
-7.1%
10,873.3
155.8
1.5%
1,389.1
-1,096.4
1954
12,854.3
591.9
4.8%
10,215.4
-657.9
-6.1%
2,638.9
1,249.8
1955
14,290.9
1,436.6
11.2%
11,384.4
1,169.0
11.4%
2,906.5
267.6
1956
17,333.0
3,042.1
21.3%
12,614.9
1,230.5
10.8%
4,718.1
1,811.6
1957
19,494.9
2,161.9
12.5%
12,982.3
367.4
2.9%
6,512.6
1,794.5
1958
16,367.0
-3,127.9
-16.0%
12,834.5
-147.8
-1.1%
3,532.5
-2,980.1
1959
16,406.9
39.9
0.2%
15,207.2
2,372.7
18.5%
1,199.7
-2,332.8
1960
19,626.3
3,219.4
19.6%
15,017.5
-189.7
-1.2%
4,608.8
3,409.1
1961
20,189.5
7,335.2
57.1%
14,713.9
4,498.5
44.0%
5,475.6
2,836.7
1962
20,972.6
783.1
3.9%
16,389.5
1,675.6
11.4%
4,583.1
-892.5
1963
22,427.3
1,454.7
6.9%
17,138.0
748.5
4.6%
5,289.3
706.2
1964
25,690.1
3,262.8
14.5%
18,684.4
1,546.4
9.0%
7,005.7
1,716.4
1965
26,699.4
1,009.3
3.9%
21,365.6
2,681.2
14.3%
5,333.8
-1,671.9
1966
29,379.2
2,679.8
10.0%
25,542.2
4,176.6
19.5%
3,837.0
-1,496.8
1967
30,934.4
1,555.2
5.3%
26,812.3
1,270.1
5.0%
4,122.1
285.1
1968
34,062.8
3,128.4
10.1%
33,226.3
6,414.0
23.9%
836.5
-3,285.6
1969
37,331.7
3,268.9
9.6%
36,042.8
2,816.5
8.5%
1,288.9
452.4
1970
43,176.3
5,844.6
15.7%
39,951.6
3,908.8
10.8%
3,224.7
1,935.8
1971
44,086.6
910.3
2.1%
45,562.7
5,611.1
14.0%
-1,476.1
-4,700.8
1972
49,854.0
5,767.4
13.1%
55,582.8
10,020.1
22.0%
-5,728.8
-4,252.7
1973
71,865.2
22,011.2
44.2%
69,475.7
13,892.9
25.0%
2,389.5
8,118.3

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CRS-6
U.S. Merchandise
U.S. Merchandise
Change From
Change From
Change From
Change From
U.S. Merch. Trade
Change From
YEAR
EXPORTS
IMPORTS
Previous Year
Previous Year
Previous Year
Previous Year
BALANCE
Previous Year
F.A.S. Value
Customs Value
1974
99,436.9
27,571.7
38.4%
103,320.8
33,845.1
48.7%
-3,883.9
-6,273.4
1975
108,855.6
9,418.7
9.5%
99,304.7
-4,016.1
-3.9%
9,550.9
13,434.8
1976
116,794.1
7,938.5
7.3%
124,613.9
25,309.2
25.5%
-7,819.8
-17,370.7
1977
123,181.5
6,387.4
5.5%
151,534.3
26,920.4
21.6%
-28,352.8
-20,533.0
1978
145,846.9
22,665.4
18.4%
176,052.0
24,517.7
16.2%
-30,205.1
-1,852.3
1979
186,362.7
40,515.8
27.8%
210,285.1
34,233.1
19.4%
-23,922.4
6,282.7
1980
225,566.1
39,203.4
21.0%
245,261.9
34,976.8
16.6%
-19,695.8
4,226.6
1981
238,715.0
13,148.9
5.8%
260,981.9
15,720.0
6.4%
-22,266.9
-2,571.1
1982
216,441.6
-22,273.4
-9.3%
243,951.9
-17,030.0
-6.5%
-27,510.3
-5,243.4
1983
205,638.6
-10,803.0
-5.0%
258,047.8
14,095.9
5.8%
-52,409.2
-24,898.9
1984
223,975.8
18,337.2
8.9%
330,678.4
72,630.6
28.1%
-106,702.6
-54,293.4
1985
218,814.9
-5,160.9
-2.3%
336,526.4
5,848.0
1.8%
-117,711.5
-11,008.9
1986
227,158.5
8,343.6
3.8%
365,437.7
28,911.3
8.6%
-138,279.2
-20,567.7
1987
254,121.9
26,963.4
11.9%
406,241.0
40,803.3
11.2%
-152,119.1
-13,839.9
1988
322,426.4
68,304.5
26.9%
440,952.3
34,711.3
8.5%
-118,525.9
33,593.2
1989
363,811.5
41,385.1
12.8%
473,210.8
32,258.5
7.3%
-109,399.3
9,126.6
1990
393,592.3
29,780.8
8.2%
495,310.5
22,099.7
4.7%
-101,718.2
7,681.1
1991
421,730.0
28,137.7
7.1%
488,453.0
-6,857.5
-1.4%
-66,723.0
34,995.2
1992
448,163.6
26,433.6
6.3%
532,664.8
44,211.8
9.1%
-84,501.2
-17,778.2
1993
465,091.0
16,927.4
3.8%
580,659.0
47,994.2
9.0%
-115,568.0
-31,066.8
1994
512,626.0
47,535.0
10.2%
663,255.7
82,596.7
14.2%
-150,629.7
-35,061.7
1995
584,742.0
72,116.0
14.1%
743,542.7
80,287.0
12.1%
-158,800.7
-8,171.0
1996
625,074.9
40,332.9
6.9%
795,289.2
51,746.5
7.0%
-170,214.3
-11,413.6
1997
689,182.4
64,107.5
10.3%
869,703.9
74,414.7
9.4%
-180,521.5
-10,307.2
1998
682,137.7
-7,044.7
-1.0%
911,896.1
42,192.2
4.9%
-229,758.4
-49,236.9
1999 a
695,213.5
13,075.8
1.9%
1,025,291.7
113,395.6
12.4%
-330,078.2
-100,319.8
2000 prelb
777,512.7
82,299.2
11.8%
1,244,292.3
219,000.6
21.4%
-466,779.6
136,701.4
a 1999 data revised by U.S. Department of Commerce News, FT-900 (00-12), dated February 21, 2001. Available on the Internet at: [http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/ustrade.html].
b Preliminary 2000 annual data also provided by U.S. Department of Commerce News, FT-900 (00-12), dated February 21, 2001.

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