What is international trade in goods (change of ownership)?

International trade in goods (change of ownership) (ITiG) statistics track foreign trade with the Czech Republic in terms of the change of ownership between Czech residents and non-residents.

Cross-border Movement of Goods (CBmG) statistics track the physical flows of goods from/to/through Czech territory.

Appropriate use of statistical terms: imports, exports, turnover and trade balance:

For international trade in goods statistics:

• Exports of goods refer to the change  of ownership from a resident to a non-resident,
• Imports of goods refer to the change of ownership from a non-resident to a resident.

Thus, it is not the physical cross-border movement of goods which matters, but the actual transactions between residents and non-residents – these may take place in the Czech Republic.

In cross-border movement of goods statistics, the definition of exports and imports is based on the crossing of the national border. Thus,

• Cross border movements of goods to the Czech Republic mean the value of goods sent abroad for the purpose of their permanent or temporary retention abroad.
• Cross border movements of goods to the Czech Republic mean the value of goods received from abroad for the purpose of their permanent or temporary retention in the country.

What is International Trade in Services?

International trade in services (ITSS) track the actual exports and imports of services between Czech and foreign entities, whereby:

• Exports of a services refer to the provision of a service by a resident to a non-resident, regardless of where the service is performed,
• Imports of a services refer to the receipt of a service by a resident from a non-resident, regardless of where the service is performed.

For the above reasons and for the better orientation of users, the Czech Statistical Office recommends using the following terms, if it is not already clear from the previous context whether the data are for the ITiG, CBmG or ITSS.

The terms in bold are those which should be preferred, where possible. Possible alternatives are also provided.

Methodological notes:

Turnover for the ITiG, CBmG or ITSS describes the sum of "exports" and "imports" in the respective methodologies.

The balance for the ITiG, CBmG or ITSS.represents the difference between 'exports' and 'imports' in the respective methodologies.

Additional information:

The ITiG and ITSS.methodology uses the definitions of exports and imports of goods in accordance with the definitions given in the ESA 2010^[1]  and BPM6^[2]  manuals for the compilation of national accounts and balance of payments. Exports of goods are defined here as a change of ownership from resident to non-resident, while imports of goods are defined as a change of ownership from non-resident to resident. Thus, it is not the physical cross-border movement of goods that matters, but the actual transactions that may take place in the Czech Republic (these are purchases and sales between residents and non-residents). The export of a service is the provision of a service by a resident to a non-resident, regardless of where the service was provided, while the import of a service is the receipt of a service by a resident from a non-resident, regardless of where the service was provided.

In the historically older methodology of the CBmG, exports of goods to EU Member States were still referred to as "dispatch of goods" and exports of goods to non-EU countries as "exports of goods". For imports of goods, the term 'receipt of goods' from EU Member States and 'import of goods' from non-EU countries are used. The Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 concerning European business statistics and repealing ten acts in the field of business statistics (hereinafter referred to as "EBS") unifies these concepts and defines only "exports of goods" and "imports of goods", whether they are from an EU member or non-EU country. However, it should be borne in mind that these are exports or imports within the meaning of the CBmG. The definitions of exports and imports for the CBmG are set out in this Regulation. For foreign trade statistics, the EBS Regulation will apply from 2022.

Prepared by: International trade statistics department of the Czech Statistical Office
Updated: June 2021