B.1.3.Addressing compilation challenges

14.79.        The OECD WPTGS Informal Reflection Group on merchanting and manufacturing services, has been addressing the challenges described above since 2015 and identified six key compilation challenges as a series of questions:

  1. How can enterprises undertaking the relevant transactions be identified for survey purposes?
  2. How can merchanting transactions be distinguished from manufacturing services in practice?
  3. How to adequately value the manufacturing processing service and merchanting fees (including in surveys)?
  4. What is the best approach to record merchanting transactions that, by definition, occur outside of the compiling economy?
  5. How can the gross flows of goods related to manufacturing services be removed from general merchandise trade statistics?
  6. How to use microdata data linking to enhance consistency of recording of merchanting and manufacturing services across all statistics?

14.80.        An additional compilation challenge concerns delineation issues concerning the identification of FGPs. This is a relatively nascent area of investigation and little compilation guidance is currently available. The GMGP contains an experimental definition of FGPs related to control of production chains and in particular the contribution of intellectual property and other forms of knowledge based capital, including brands, make to overall value added but this remains very much a frontier topic. Guidance will however be made available in this Guide when sufficient compilation experience has been developed.

In this paragraph:

 

Back to Implementation guide drafted by the Informal Reflection Group of the OECD Working Party on International Trade in Goods and Trade in Services Statistics (WPTGS) on Merchanting and Manufacturing Services