Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
International trade in goods statistics (ITGS) published by Eurostat measure the value and quantity of goods traded between the EU Member States (intra-EU trade) and goods traded by the EU Member States with non-EU countries (extra-EU trade). ‘Goods’ means all movable property including electricity. ‘European’ means that the statistics are compiled on the basis of the concepts and definitions set out in EU legislation.
Trade by invoicing currency (TIC) data are part of the information available for extra-EU trade. The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. Data by invoicing currency can be used for instance to explore the use of the euro in the EU’s international trade, to compare it with the role of the United States dollar (USD) or to analyse the role of the euro in the euro area and in the EU. These statistics are very useful to central banks, including the European Central Bank, for comparing the euro with other major international currencies. These data are also used by financial market segments or foreign investors.
Statistical dimensions available for TIC data:
reporting country;
partner country;
reference period;
trade flows;
product; and
currency.
3.2. Classification system
Product classification
The Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) is managed by the United Nations and correlated with the subheadings of the Harmonised System. SITC Rev. 4 comprises 2 970 basing headings which are aggregated into 262 groups, 67 divisions and 10 sections. TIC data are based on the section level complemented by the division 33 ‘oil”.
Country classification
The ‘Nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Union and statistics of trade between Member States’, known as the ‘Geonomenclature’, is used to collect detailed statistics on exchanges of goods. TIC data are only disseminated at an aggregated partner level: partner ‘extra-EU’ for TIC data reported by the EU Member States and partner ‘world’ for the TIC data reported by the EFTA and enlargement countries. See the publication Geonomenclature applicable to European statistics on international trade in goods for more information (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/international-trade-in-goods/publications#methotherpub).
3.3. Coverage - sector
The scope of TIC data is the same as for monthly detailed data on extra-EU trade in goods. They cover all goods entering (imports) or leaving (exports) the national statistical territory and for which the trading partner is a non-EU country. Note that the statistical territory of the Netherlands corresponds to its customs territory.
As ITGS in general, TIC data cover all sectors of the economy.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Reporting country – Except for some specific goods like vessels and aircraft, ITGS follow the physical movements of the goods. A country should record an import when goods enter its statistical territory and an export when goods leave that territory except if those goods are in simple transit.
Partner country – At detailed level, this is the last known country of destination for exports and the country of origin for imports. However individual partner countries are not kept in the dissemination of data by invoicing currency. They are replaced by the partner area ‘extra-EU’.
Product – Goods are primarily classified by commodity code as set out in the EU Combined Nomenclature. TIC data are compiled on the basis of a correspondence table enabling the transposition of detailed data collected according to the Combined Nomenclature into the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). TIC data are available by three product groups: Raw materials without oil (SITC sections 0-4, excluding division 33), Oil (SITC division 33) and Manufactured products (SITC sections 5-8), as well as a Total (SITC sections 0-9).
Since reference year 2022 TIC data are compiled at section level (SITC 0,...,9) complemented by the division 33 'oil' and a Total (SITC sections 0-9), but they are published at the level described above.
Currency – The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. Its definition is provided by the customs legislation. Only the following currencies or groups of invoicing currencies are considered for data transmission to Eurostat:
Euro (‘EUR’)
UK pound sterling (‘GBP’)
US dollar (‘USD’)
National currencies of non-euro area Member States (‘XU3’)
Other not specified currencies (‘_X’)
Unknown currency (‘_U’)
Total ‘_T’
Additional invoicing currency breakdown if the data source is the customs declaration:
Brazilian real (‘BRL’)
Canadian dollar (‘CAD’)
Swiss franc (‘CHF’)
Chinese yuan renminbi (‘CNY’)
Indian rupee (‘INR’)
Japanese yen (‘JPY’)
South Korean won (‘KRW’)
Mexican peso (‘MXN’)
Norwegian krone (‘NOK’)
Russian rouble (‘RUB’)
Singapore dollar (‘SGD’)
Turkish lira (‘TRY’)
Note on ‘unknown’ currency: Trade for which the currency is unknown should be distributed over the individual currencies or groups of currencies proportionally to their relative share except if it is known that such a distribution would skew the data in a too significant extent. In such a case, the code UNK ‘Unknown’ could exceptionally be used.
The set of collected currencies has been evolving over time. Initially, only 5 currencies were collected (EUR, USD, _X, XU3 and _T). Since 2020 reference year, _U currency was added. The full set mentioned above has been collected only since 2022 reference year.
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit is any natural and legal person lodging a customs declaration in the Netherlands on the condition that the customs procedure is of statistical relevance.
3.6. Statistical population
The statistical population comprise all the legal or natural persons who lodged a customs declaration with the Dutch National Customs Authority.
For data transmission to Eurostat – Trade values (in national currency units) by invoicing currency. The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB (free on board) basis for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:
exports in the part of the journey located on the territory of the country where the goods are exported from;
imports in the part of the journey located outside the territory of the country where the goods are imported to.
For data dissemination on Eurostat website – Share of each invoicing currency in extra-EU imports and exports
Theoretically, the reference period for the information on international trade in goods transactions should be the calendar month of export or import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is generally the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the Dutch National Customs Authority.
The reference years for which TIC data are disseminated result from the aggregation of monthly figures from January to December.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
General statistical legislation
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1225 specifying the arrangements for the data exchanges and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197, as regards the Member State of extra-Union export and the obligations of reporting units
• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1704 further specifying the details for the statistical information to be provided by tax and customs authorities and amending Annexes V and VI of Regulation (EU) 2019/2152
Extra-EU trade legislation (or Extrastat) - legislation applicable up to 1 January 2022
Basic Act: Regulation (EC) No 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 92/2010
• Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 113/2010
All regulations relevant for the European statistics on international trade in goods can be found in the publication Legislation on European statistics on international trade in goods or consulted from the Legislation page of the International trade in goods section on Eurostat website. All legal texts of the EU are accessible on Eur-Lex.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
As a general definition, data used by national and EU authorities for producing statistics are considered confidential if statistical units can be identified, either directly or indirectly, and information about individuals or businesses is disclosed as a result.
The Law on Statistics Netherlands of November 2003 stipulates in article 37 to 42a that data received from respondents should be kept confidential.
The general policy is that the privacy of respondents (households and companies) is guaranteed, since data shall solely be used for statistical purposes and only compiled data are published. In addition, the individual data are only available to persons charged with carrying out the duties of the Statistics Netherlands. Hence all new employees sign a confidentiality contract, which ensures that micro data remain confidential.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
TIC data are simply the results of the aggregation of real trade data (i.e. data as collected in SADs). Confidentiality rules are implemented in line with confidentiality procedures for other data deliveries on International Trade. More specific, passive confidentiality is applied in accordance with Article 19 of the EBS regulation.
8.1. Release calendar
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 8.1 ‘Release calendar’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency (TIC)’ for more details.
8.2. Release calendar access
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 8.2 ‘Release calendar access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
8.3. Release policy - user access
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 8.3 ‘Release policy - user access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 9 ‘Frequency of dissemination’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.1 ‘Dissemination format - News release’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.2 ‘Dissemination format - Publications’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.3 ‘Dissemination format - online database’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not applicable.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Not applicable.
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not applicable
10.6. Documentation on methodology
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.6 ‘Documentation on methodology' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
100%
10.7. Quality management - documentation
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 10.7 ‘Quality management - documentation’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
11.1. Quality assurance
Statistics Netherlands's mission is to publish reliable and coherent statistical information that meets society's needs. A prerequisite of this mission is that the quality of this statistical information is guaranteed, to which end Statistics Netherlands has set up a quality management system, based on the highest international standards. Statistics Netherlands's Quality Statement specifies the way in which these quality standards are met. It is available at the following link:
See item 11.2 ‘Quality management - assessment' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 12.1 ‘Relevance - User Needs’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 12.2 ‘Relevance - User Satisfaction’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
12.3. Completeness
See item 12.3 ‘Completeness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
The accuracy of the TIC data for the imports depends mainly on the accuracy of the customs declarations. Similarly, for reference years 2018 , 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 currency information in customs data for the exports was found to be incomplete. Probabilities were calculated at the deepest data level available and were extrapolated.
Due to this estimation method we expect a small bias in the TIC export results. Since we use probabilities derived from earlier years, a small lack of any time effect will be introduced. No bias is expected for data on imports, since currency information is available.
However, the bias for exports data will be limited. The method was validated on data from previous years. Estimated values were compared to observed values. The results showed only minor differences (all delta < 3.1%, except for SITC33) at the SITC X Flow X Currency level.
For exports for reference year 2023 we used a combination of the estimation method mentioned above and the partially obtained currency information.
We expect that more currency information in customs data for exports will be available in 2024. This should eliminate a possible bias in exports data.
13.2. Sampling error
See item 13.2 ‘Sampling error' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
See item 13.3 ‘Non-sampling error' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
In addition to a change in the definition of intra- versus extra-EU areas following Croatia's adhesion to the EU in 2013 and UK's withdrawal from the EU in 2020, there was a methodological change in reference year 2018 (see 13.1). Also we have taken the opportunity to fine tune our method at the introduction of the new publication levels to be provided in the TIC-data on reference year 2022 (sitc 0…9, sitc33, _T instead of sitc0T4A, sitc33, sitc5T8). As a result TIC-shares for 2022 are not exactly comparable with those for earlier years.
In addition to a change in the definition of currency XU3 following Croatia's adhesion to the Eurozone in 2023, there was a methodological change in 2023.
For imports for reference year 2023 we have used new currency information for sitc33. This led to a more accurate share of currencies, but also meant that the shares for imports of sitc33 for 2023 are not comparable with these shares for 2022.
For exports for reference year 2023 we have used a combination of the estimation method mentioned in 13.1 and the partially obtained currency information, creating a methodological break between 2022 and 2023.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
As a result of the changes mentioned under 15.2, comparable time series for exports cover 4 years (2010-2013), 4 years ( 2014-2017), 2 years (2018-2019), 2 years (2020-2021) , 1 year (2022) and 1 year (2023). For imports comparable time series cover 4 years (2010-2013), 6 years (2014-2019), 2 years (2020-2021), 1 year (2022) and 1 year (2023).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
See item 15.3 ‘Coherence - cross domain' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
See item 15.4 ‘Coherence - internal' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
TIC data are derived from information collected via customs declarations. No specific data collection is then necessary, which means that the burden is null for the respondents, i.e. for the traders and businesses. The cost of TIC data only relates to the compilation step carried out by the National Statistical Authorities, which is considered as minor given the limited number of records.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Since the data is not disseminated at National level, there is no formal revision policy which is applied.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Statistics by invoicing currency are only exceptionally revised.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not available.
18.1. Source data
TIC data are mainly derived from the combination of two types of information collected via customs declarations:
Trade in goods transactions; and
The invoicing currency associated with these transactions.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Collection of trade in goods data: daily via customs declarations
Collection of the invoicing currency: daily via customs declarations
18.3. Data collection
Collection of trade in goods data
The standard source of information on trade transactions is the customs declaration submitted by businesses and, in some cases, by private individuals involved in an international transaction of goods with a non-EU country. Data are received as text-files obtained from a Customs database on a daily basis. Each file contains all declarations received on the day specified in the header of the file.
Collection of the invoicing currency
The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. It is mandatory information to be collected by the Customs National Authorities for imported goods. For exported goods this is optional since reference year 2018. In the near future invoice curency will be mandatory for exported goods as well as for imported goods.
18.4. Data validation
All the checks mentioned below are carried out by Statistics Netherlands. We also monitor the developments over time and look for explanations.
Dutch TIC data disseminated by Eurostat have passed the following quality checks:
Intra-dataset checks: completeness of the dataset and uniqueness of the records, validity of the codes, validity of code combinations across the different dimensions, inter-record consistency checks;
Intra-domain check: check of the coherence between trade values published in the TIC dataset and trade values coming from aggregated and detailed trade in goods data.
18.5. Data compilation
At national level:
Relevant data is collected from customs data. Statistical values are aggregated at the level SITC x FLOW x CURRENCY. Cases where the invoicing currency is missing are excluded. Subsequently the share of each specified invoicing currency in the extra-trade value with known invoicing currency is calculated. These shares are then applied to the total extra-trade value. The resulting table is checked for validity and consistency.
At European level:
The share of each invoicing currency in the imports and exports of the Netherlands is calculated on the basis of the transmitted trade values.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
At national level:
No imputations are made at Statistics Netherlands.
At European level:
No imputation is made by Eurostat.
18.6. Adjustment
No adjustment is done on TIC data at National level.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
International trade in goods statistics (ITGS) published by Eurostat measure the value and quantity of goods traded between the EU Member States (intra-EU trade) and goods traded by the EU Member States with non-EU countries (extra-EU trade). ‘Goods’ means all movable property including electricity. ‘European’ means that the statistics are compiled on the basis of the concepts and definitions set out in EU legislation.
Trade by invoicing currency (TIC) data are part of the information available for extra-EU trade. The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. Data by invoicing currency can be used for instance to explore the use of the euro in the EU’s international trade, to compare it with the role of the United States dollar (USD) or to analyse the role of the euro in the euro area and in the EU. These statistics are very useful to central banks, including the European Central Bank, for comparing the euro with other major international currencies. These data are also used by financial market segments or foreign investors.
Statistical dimensions available for TIC data:
reporting country;
partner country;
reference period;
trade flows;
product; and
currency.
6 May 2024
Reporting country – Except for some specific goods like vessels and aircraft, ITGS follow the physical movements of the goods. A country should record an import when goods enter its statistical territory and an export when goods leave that territory except if those goods are in simple transit.
Partner country – At detailed level, this is the last known country of destination for exports and the country of origin for imports. However individual partner countries are not kept in the dissemination of data by invoicing currency. They are replaced by the partner area ‘extra-EU’.
Product – Goods are primarily classified by commodity code as set out in the EU Combined Nomenclature. TIC data are compiled on the basis of a correspondence table enabling the transposition of detailed data collected according to the Combined Nomenclature into the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). TIC data are available by three product groups: Raw materials without oil (SITC sections 0-4, excluding division 33), Oil (SITC division 33) and Manufactured products (SITC sections 5-8), as well as a Total (SITC sections 0-9).
Since reference year 2022 TIC data are compiled at section level (SITC 0,...,9) complemented by the division 33 'oil' and a Total (SITC sections 0-9), but they are published at the level described above.
Currency – The invoicing currency is the currency in which the commercial invoice is drawn up. Its definition is provided by the customs legislation. Only the following currencies or groups of invoicing currencies are considered for data transmission to Eurostat:
Euro (‘EUR’)
UK pound sterling (‘GBP’)
US dollar (‘USD’)
National currencies of non-euro area Member States (‘XU3’)
Other not specified currencies (‘_X’)
Unknown currency (‘_U’)
Total ‘_T’
Additional invoicing currency breakdown if the data source is the customs declaration:
Brazilian real (‘BRL’)
Canadian dollar (‘CAD’)
Swiss franc (‘CHF’)
Chinese yuan renminbi (‘CNY’)
Indian rupee (‘INR’)
Japanese yen (‘JPY’)
South Korean won (‘KRW’)
Mexican peso (‘MXN’)
Norwegian krone (‘NOK’)
Russian rouble (‘RUB’)
Singapore dollar (‘SGD’)
Turkish lira (‘TRY’)
Note on ‘unknown’ currency: Trade for which the currency is unknown should be distributed over the individual currencies or groups of currencies proportionally to their relative share except if it is known that such a distribution would skew the data in a too significant extent. In such a case, the code UNK ‘Unknown’ could exceptionally be used.
The set of collected currencies has been evolving over time. Initially, only 5 currencies were collected (EUR, USD, _X, XU3 and _T). Since 2020 reference year, _U currency was added. The full set mentioned above has been collected only since 2022 reference year.
The statistical unit is any natural and legal person lodging a customs declaration in the Netherlands on the condition that the customs procedure is of statistical relevance.
The statistical population comprise all the legal or natural persons who lodged a customs declaration with the Dutch National Customs Authority.
The Netherlands
Theoretically, the reference period for the information on international trade in goods transactions should be the calendar month of export or import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is generally the calendar month during which the customs declaration is accepted by the Dutch National Customs Authority.
The reference years for which TIC data are disseminated result from the aggregation of monthly figures from January to December.
The accuracy of the TIC data for the imports depends mainly on the accuracy of the customs declarations. Similarly, for reference years 2018 , 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 currency information in customs data for the exports was found to be incomplete. Probabilities were calculated at the deepest data level available and were extrapolated.
Due to this estimation method we expect a small bias in the TIC export results. Since we use probabilities derived from earlier years, a small lack of any time effect will be introduced. No bias is expected for data on imports, since currency information is available.
However, the bias for exports data will be limited. The method was validated on data from previous years. Estimated values were compared to observed values. The results showed only minor differences (all delta < 3.1%, except for SITC33) at the SITC X Flow X Currency level.
For exports for reference year 2023 we used a combination of the estimation method mentioned above and the partially obtained currency information.
We expect that more currency information in customs data for exports will be available in 2024. This should eliminate a possible bias in exports data.
For data transmission to Eurostat – Trade values (in national currency units) by invoicing currency. The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB (free on board) basis for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:
exports in the part of the journey located on the territory of the country where the goods are exported from;
imports in the part of the journey located outside the territory of the country where the goods are imported to.
For data dissemination on Eurostat website – Share of each invoicing currency in extra-EU imports and exports
At national level:
Relevant data is collected from customs data. Statistical values are aggregated at the level SITC x FLOW x CURRENCY. Cases where the invoicing currency is missing are excluded. Subsequently the share of each specified invoicing currency in the extra-trade value with known invoicing currency is calculated. These shares are then applied to the total extra-trade value. The resulting table is checked for validity and consistency.
At European level:
The share of each invoicing currency in the imports and exports of the Netherlands is calculated on the basis of the transmitted trade values.
TIC data are mainly derived from the combination of two types of information collected via customs declarations:
Trade in goods transactions; and
The invoicing currency associated with these transactions.
TIC data are only disseminated by Eurostat. See item 9 ‘Frequency of dissemination’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
See concepts 14.1.1 and 14.1.2.
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical' of the related metadata ‘ext_tic - International trade in goods – trade by invoicing currency’ for more details.
In addition to a change in the definition of intra- versus extra-EU areas following Croatia's adhesion to the EU in 2013 and UK's withdrawal from the EU in 2020, there was a methodological change in reference year 2018 (see 13.1). Also we have taken the opportunity to fine tune our method at the introduction of the new publication levels to be provided in the TIC-data on reference year 2022 (sitc 0…9, sitc33, _T instead of sitc0T4A, sitc33, sitc5T8). As a result TIC-shares for 2022 are not exactly comparable with those for earlier years.
In addition to a change in the definition of currency XU3 following Croatia's adhesion to the Eurozone in 2023, there was a methodological change in 2023.
For imports for reference year 2023 we have used new currency information for sitc33. This led to a more accurate share of currencies, but also meant that the shares for imports of sitc33 for 2023 are not comparable with these shares for 2022.
For exports for reference year 2023 we have used a combination of the estimation method mentioned in 13.1 and the partially obtained currency information, creating a methodological break between 2022 and 2023.
