Order Code 98-536 C
Updated September 20, 2002
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
U.S. Merchandise Trade Data: 1948-2002
J. Michael Donnelly
Information Research Specialist
Information Research Division
Summary
U.S. trade increased in volume and value from the end of World War II to 2000.
Trade volume and value declined in 2001 and are estimated to decline further in 2002.
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 in 2001 both exports and imports declined, resulting in a smaller deficit than
in 2000. For the 53 years between 1948 and 2001, merchandise exports grew by 58
times, and merchandise imports grew by 163 times. U.S. merchandise imports exceeded
$1 trillion for the first time in 1999 and remain above $1 trillion through 2002 estimates.
During this full period, the U.S. merchandise trade balance was in surplus between
1948 and 1970. Our first postwar deficit occurred in 1971. The deficit exceeded $100
billion for the first time in 1984, surpassed $200 billion in 1998, $300 billion in 1999,
and grew beyond $400 billion in 2000, where it remains through estimates for 2002.
This report will be updated as new information becomes available.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

---

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. These are the data
reported here, and constitute 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.

---

CRS-3
Recent Annual Trade Trends
In 2001, the latest complete year, U.S. exports decreased by $53 billion, or 7%, to
$729 billion. Imports decreased by $77 billion, or 6%, to $1,141 billion. These statistics
resulted in the U.S. merchandise trade deficit decreasing $24 billion, or roughly 6%, to
$412 billion. This 2001 merchandise trade deficit decrease is in contrast to the $100
billion annual increases during 1999 and 2000, but the total merchandise trade deficit
remains greater than $400 billion.
In the 6-year span from 1997 through estimated 2002, exports declined 4%, from
$689 billion to $661 billion, while imports grew 26%, from $870 to $1,095 billion. This
resulted in the trade deficit more than doubling from $181 billion to $433 billion.
Where to Find Trade Statistics
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division
(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/].

---

CRS-4
Internet Sources of Data
Sources of data on the Internet are becoming more reliable and easier to access.
! 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 Highlights,” and state export data at
[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.

---

CRS-5
! Economic Report of the President, published annually in February,
contains tables which provide merchandise trade statistics on both a
Census and BOP basis.
Table 1. Annual Change in U.S. Merchandise Trade: Exports,
Imports, and Balance—1948-2000 Est.
(Census basis as of October 2001; values in U.S. current millions of dollars)
Change
Change
U.S. Merch.
Change
Change
Change
U.S. Merch.
U.S. Merch.
From
From
IMPORTS
From
From
From
YEAR
EXPORTS
Trade
Previous
Previous
Customs
Previous
Previous
Previous
F.A.S. Value
BALANCE
Year
Year
Value
Year
Year
Year
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
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

---

CRS-6
Change
Change
U.S. Merch.
Change
Change
Change
U.S. Merch.
U.S. Merch.
From
From
IMPORTS
From
From
From
YEAR
EXPORTS
Trade
Previous
Previous
Customs
Previous
Previous
Previous
F.A.S. Value
BALANCE
Year
Year
Value
Year
Year
Year
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
695,797.2
13,695.5 2.0%
1,024,618.2 112,722.1 12.4%
-328,821.0
-99,062.6
2000
781,917.7
86,120.5 12.4%
1,218,022.0 193,403.8 18.9%
-436,104.3
-107,283.3
2001a
729,100.3
-52,817.4 -6.8%
1,140,999.4
-77,022.6 -6.3%
-411,899.1
24,205.2
est. 2002b
661,677.1
-67,423.2 -9.2%
1,094,975.7
-46,023.7 -4.0%
-433,298.6
-21,399.5
a. Final 2001 annual data provided by U.S. Department of Commerce News, FT-900 (02-06), dated August 20, 2002. Available on the
Internet at [http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/ustrade.html] and [http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/newsrel/tradnewsrelease.htm].
b. 2002 annual trade data estimate created using data from data for 2001 and January through July 2002. 2002 data obtained from U.S.
Department of Commerce News, FT-900 (02-07), Sept. 18, 2002. Estimate formula is: (Jan.-July 02 flow divided by Jan-July 01
flow) times annual 01 flow = estimated annual 02 flow. Flow is flow of trade: exports, imports, or balance.

---