A. Importance of the legal framework for trade statistics
1.2. Importance of the legal framework. Because of its relevance for economic policy and market analysis, international merchandise trade statistics generally enjoy the broad support of Governments and the business community. However, owing to a number of factors, such as reporting burden on companies and traders, confidentiality concerns, and the lack of proper cooperation among various agencies, basic data may not be provided or accessible in a timely and comprehensive way, thus making it difficult for the compilers to produce complete and high-quality international merchandise trade statistics. Basic trade data include data provided by traders through customs declarations, data provided by the customs administration, the central bank, ministries and other national agencies (in the case where they are not the agency responsible for compiling official trade statistics in the country), and data provided directly by importing and exporting companies through surveys. The legal agreements, relevant laws and regulations that govern such data-provision relations, as well as all other aspects of data compilation and dissemination in a country, constitute the legal framework for IMTS. It is important that the legal acts and appropriate administrative regulations be in place to mandate and enable trade statisticians to collect, compile and disseminate high-quality trade statistics and to safeguard the confidentiality of the individual data (see International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Concepts and Definitions 2010,[1] para. 8.17).
1.3. Types of legal acts. Legal acts relevant for international merchandise trade statistics, which exist at three different levels are of three types, namely: (a) legal acts governing the completion of the customs documentation; (b) legal acts regulating the collection, processing and dissemination of international merchandise trade statistics and the working relations of the concerned agencies; and (c) legal acts protecting the confidentiality of information. The last-mentioned kinds of acts are usually incorporated in the acts covered under (a) and (b). Whereas legal acts are enacted by the national (or regional) legislative bodies, international organizations set out international guidelines and recommendations. If a country becomes a member of an international organization, or a party to an international convention, or adopts international recommendations, it then needs to incorporate those recommendations in its national laws and regulations. Especially in the field of international trade, many international agreements exist to properly govern the cross-border transactions in goods and services. In a similar sense, international recommendations for trade statistics should be properly reflected in national laws or regulations of the country. The compilation and dissemination of international merchandise trade statistics should also follow the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, such as independence, impartiality, etc. (see IMTS 2010, para. 0.12). Furthermore, trade statisticians will be able to do their job more efficiently if these national laws and regulations also cover the establishment of appropriate institutional arrangements.
[1] Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 52 (UN publication, Sales No. E.10 XVII.13).