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 area
flow
product
invoicing currency
reference year
indicator
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 (Eurostat - publications).
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 Sweden corresponds to its customs territory.
As ITGS in general, TIC data cover all sectors of the economy.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Before reference year 2022:
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).
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
national currencies of EU Member States not belonging to the euro area
US dollar
‘other’ (i.e. aggregated group of currencies of all non-EU countries except the United States)
'unknown' (only since year 2020)
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.
From reference year 2022 and forward the following applies:
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 these product groups:
Food and live animals, SITC0
Beverages and tobacco, SITC1
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels, SITC2
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, SITC3
Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes, SITC4
Chemicals and related products, n.e.s, SITC5
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material, SITC6
Machinery and transport equipment, SITC7
Miscellaneous manufactured articles, SITC8
Goods not classified elsewhere, SITC9
In addition, Oil (division 33) is required to be reported individually
Currency If data sources other than customs declarations are used (which would be the export-flow for Sweden), the invoicing currency breakdown shall be:
Euro
National currency, SEK
Other national currencies of non-euro area Members [excluding UK pound]
UK pound
US dollar
Other
Unknown
If customs declarations are used as data source (which would be the import-flow for Sweden), the invoicing currency breakdown shall be:
Euro
National currency, SEK
Other national currencies of non-euro area Members [excluding UK pound]
UK pound
US dollar
Brazilian real
Canadian dollar
Swiss franc
Chinese renminbi-yuan
Indian rupee
Japanese yen
South Korean won
Mexican peso
Norwegian krone
Russian rouble
Singapore dollar
Turkish lira
Other
Unknown
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit is any natural and legal person lodging a customs declaration in Sweden 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 Swedish 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.
NB: the invoicing currency 'national currencies of EU Member States not belonging to the euro area' only includes the national currency SEK, no other EU- member state non-euro currency has been collected by Sweden.
The reference period is the current year when the form is sent out. The PSI receive the form in the summer and we ask them to estimate the trade for the current year as well as the remaining part of the year with a deadline around mid November.
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.
Regulation (EC) No 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
TIC data are aggregated trade data from the customs and considering that the SITC product groups are not disclosed, no specific data treatment applies.
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.
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.
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
Known users: Eurostat and the central bank of Sweden.
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.
User satisfaction survey is done at Statistics Sweden.
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.
As a very small part of one of the flows is due to sampling (in terms of trade value), such assessments were not made during the estimations. All high-value trade is collected with certainty in the flow that is subject to sample surveying. The other flow (arrivals) is a complete enumerations, hence by construction without any sampling errors.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
There is a coverage issue with forwarding agents which are difficult to survey as they do not always possess this information on currency.
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
Data are comparable over time, minor changes are only due to the changes in the composition of Extra-EU.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
See concept 15.2
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.
No assessment on cost but presumed to be low-burden.
17.1. Data revision - policy
No revision policy
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 derived from the combination of two types of information:
Trade in goods transactions collected via customs declarations; and
Invoicing currencies collected via either customs declarations and a dedicated survey for exports
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Collection of trade in goods data: every month via customs declarations
Collection of the invoicing currency: every month via customs declarations for imports, every other year via a dedicated survey for exports
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. The customs declaration may be in paper form — the Single Administrative Document (SAD) — but is most commonly in electronic format (EDI-format).
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. On exports, it is collected via a survey to the ca 450 largest PSIs + smaller enterprises for more coverage. Thus it's a cutoff survey where a size demarcation is made so that the companies that make up about 80% of the trade value, which is about 450 companies, are grouped as so-called "Take all", so they are selected with certainty to the sample. Pareto-PPS are used as the selection principle.
18.4. Data validation
Data is validated at the Customs before it is sent to Statistics Sweden. At Statistics Sweden the data is validated at a macro level.
Swedish 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:
Survey data is combined with customs data. See 18.3 for more details.
At European level:
The share of each invoicing currency in the imports and exports of Sweden is calculated on the basis of the transmitted trade values.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
At national level:
Not applicable, no imputations is made.
At European level:
No imputation is made by Eurostat.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable.
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 area
flow
product
invoicing currency
reference year
indicator
12 May 2025
Before reference year 2022:
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).
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
national currencies of EU Member States not belonging to the euro area
US dollar
‘other’ (i.e. aggregated group of currencies of all non-EU countries except the United States)
'unknown' (only since year 2020)
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.
From reference year 2022 and forward the following applies:
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 these product groups:
Food and live animals, SITC0
Beverages and tobacco, SITC1
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels, SITC2
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, SITC3
Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes, SITC4
Chemicals and related products, n.e.s, SITC5
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material, SITC6
Machinery and transport equipment, SITC7
Miscellaneous manufactured articles, SITC8
Goods not classified elsewhere, SITC9
In addition, Oil (division 33) is required to be reported individually
Currency If data sources other than customs declarations are used (which would be the export-flow for Sweden), the invoicing currency breakdown shall be:
Euro
National currency, SEK
Other national currencies of non-euro area Members [excluding UK pound]
UK pound
US dollar
Other
Unknown
If customs declarations are used as data source (which would be the import-flow for Sweden), the invoicing currency breakdown shall be:
Euro
National currency, SEK
Other national currencies of non-euro area Members [excluding UK pound]
UK pound
US dollar
Brazilian real
Canadian dollar
Swiss franc
Chinese renminbi-yuan
Indian rupee
Japanese yen
South Korean won
Mexican peso
Norwegian krone
Russian rouble
Singapore dollar
Turkish lira
Other
Unknown
The statistical unit is any natural and legal person lodging a customs declaration in Sweden 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 Swedish National Customs Authority.
Sweden
The reference period is the current year when the form is sent out. The PSI receive the form in the summer and we ask them to estimate the trade for the current year as well as the remaining part of the year with a deadline around mid November.
Low non-response, overall high accuracy.
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.
NB: the invoicing currency 'national currencies of EU Member States not belonging to the euro area' only includes the national currency SEK, no other EU- member state non-euro currency has been collected by Sweden.
At national level:
Survey data is combined with customs data. See 18.3 for more details.
At European level:
The share of each invoicing currency in the imports and exports of Sweden is calculated on the basis of the transmitted trade values.
TIC data are derived from the combination of two types of information:
Trade in goods transactions collected via customs declarations; and
Invoicing currencies collected via either customs declarations and a dedicated survey for exports
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.
Data are comparable over time, minor changes are only due to the changes in the composition of Extra-EU.
