RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IDB/URM/6
10July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2693)
INTEGRATED DATA BASE
IDBUSER REFERENCE MANUAL
PART VI
DISSEMINATION OFIDBINFORMATION
Note bytheSecretariatIDB/URM/6
Page2
TABLE OFCONTENTS
Page
A. DISTRIBUTION OFIDBINFORMATION ....................... 5
B. REPORTS AVAILABLE INTHE SECRETARIAT .................. 6
1. Reports atthetariff linelevel ........................... 6
1.1 Tariff concession evaluation ....................... 6
1.2 Detail listing ................................. 7
2. Reports atsummary levels ............................. 8
2.1 Agricultural Products -Profile ofTariff Reductions andScope of
Special Safeguard .............................. 8
2.2 Industrial Products -Scope ofBindings, Tariff Averages andCoverage
ofOffers ................................... 8
C. IDBFILE COPIES ..................................... 9
D. IDBFILE FORMATS AND CONTENTS ........................ 10
1. Import statistics file ................................. 11
1.1 Standard format -key ........................... 11
1.2 Standard format -data ........................... 12
1.3 Dataset characteristics ........................... 12
2. Coded tariff file .................................... 13
2.1 Standard format -key ........................... 13
2.2 Standard format -Record type1:Duty rateandcodes ....... 14
2.3 Standard format -Record type2:Normalized coding ........ 15
2.4 Standard format -Record types 3and4:Textandfootnotes ... 19
2.5 Dataset characteristics ........................... 19
3. Textual tariff file ................................... 20
3.1 Standard format -key ........................... 20
3.2 Standard format -Elements 02,03,08,09,10............ 21
3.3 Standard format -Elements 04,06 ................... 21
3.4 Standard format -Elements 05...................... 22
3.5 Standard format -Elements 07...................... 22
3.6 Structure ofthetextual tariff filekey .................. 23
3.7 Dataset characteristics ........................... 23
4. Tariff footnote file .................................. 24
4.1 Standard format ............................... 24
4.2 Dataset characteristics ........................... 24IDB/URM/6
Page3
D. IDBFILE FORMATS AND CONTENTS (continued) Page
5. Coded non-tariff file ................................. 25
5.1 Standard format -key ........................... 25
5.2 Standard format -Record type1:WTO bodies ............ 26
5.3 Standard format -Record type2:WTO documents ......... 26
5.4 Standard format -Record type3:GATT Articles .......... 27
5.5 Standard format -Record types 4and5:Textandfootnotes ... 27
5.6 Dataset characteristics ........................... 27
6. Coded non-tariff file ................................. 28
6.1 Standard format ............................... 28
6.2 Dataset characteristics ........................... 28
7. Global reference file ................................. 29
7.1 Standard format -key ........................... 29
7.2 Global reference file-country codes record ............. 29
7.3 Global reference file-Initial Negotiating Rights record ...... 30
7.4 Global reference file-Customs Union member countries definition
record ..................................... 31
7.5 Global reference file-quantity units record ............... 31
7.6 Global reference file-non-tariff measure codes record ....... 32
7.7 Global reference file-legalinstruments record ........... 32
7.8 Global reference file-documents record ............... 33
7.9 Global reference file-Articles record ................. 33
7.10 Global reference file-aggregates record ................ 34
7.11 Dataset characteristics ........................... 34
8. National reference file ................................ 35
8.1 Standard format ............................... 35
8.2 National reference file-country codes record ............ 35
8.3 National reference file-Initial Negotiating Rights record ..... 36
8.4 National reference file-quantity units record ............ 36
8.5 National reference file-non-tariff measure codes record ..... 37
8.6 Dataset characteristics ........................... 37
9. Reporting country file ................................ 38
9.1 Standard format ............................... 38
9.2 Reporting country file-Import statistics record ........... 39
9.3 Reporting country file-Coded tariff record ............. 40
9.4 Reporting country file-Textual tariff record ............. 40
9.5 Reporting country file-Tariff footnote record ............ 41
9.6 Reporting country file-Coded non-tariff record ........... 41
9.7 Reporting country file-Textual non-tariff record .......... 42
9.8 Dataset characteristics ........................... 42
10. Harmonized System nomenclature files ..................... 43
10.1 Standard format ............................... 43
10.2 Dataset characteristics ........................... 43IDB/URM/6
Page4
D. IDBFILE FORMATS AND CONTENTS (continued) Page
11. Import statistics file-Tariff Study format .................... 44
11.1 Tariff Study format ............................. 44
11.2 Dataset characteristics ........................... 45
12. Tariff file-Tariff Study format .......................... 46
12.1 Tariff Study format ............................ 46
12.2 Tariff Study format -record types 01B-12B: Duty information . 47
12.3 Dataset characteristics ........................... 48IDB/URM/6
Page5
A.DISTRIBUTION OFIDBINFORMATION
When asubmission stored intheIDBisconsidered asfinal, andwiththeauthorization ofthecountry
concerned, theIDBfilesareunloaded fromthedatabaseandmade available toWTO Members. The
IDBinformation canbemade available asfollows:
(1) TheSecretariat hasdeveloped aPCapplication system asajointproject withtheWorld Bank
which provides IDBinformation andtools fordataanalyses bothatthetariff lineleveland
atsummary levels. ThePCapplication system andassociated filesaredistributed toWTO
Members onaCD-ROM.
TheIDBCD-ROMdatabasecontainsinformationrelatingtotariffs,importstatisticsandproduct
descriptions stored atthetariff linelevel, aswellasreference filescontaining bothglobal
(information common toallmarkets) andnational (market specific) information.
Theapplication system wasdesigned topermit theanalysis ofIDBinformation fromthetariff
linelevel uptoanoverall levelforanindividual market. Thereports available intheIDB
CD-ROM are:
- Tariff LineQuery,
- Tariff Averages,
- Tariff andTrade Profiles,
- Imports Summary,
- Principal Suppliers,
- Status ofBindings and
- GSP/LDC Preferences.
Thereports canbeproduced forseveral classifications ofproducts -forlevels oftheHS
nomenclature:two-digit,four-digit,six-digitandHSSections,forvariousgroupingsofproducts,
fortheISICRev.3 classification andfortheSITC Rev.3 classification. Anadditional feature
oftheapplication istheprovision oftoolsfortheselection ofproducts based ontariffandtrade
criteria.
TheIDBCD-ROM isdescribed inPART VIAddendum -"The IDBCD-ROM"
(2) TheSecretariat hasdeveloped aseries ofprograms which areusedtoprepare analytical reports
attherequest ofDelegations andusers within theSecretariat. These programs operate onthe
ICCmainframe andwereusedinthepasttosupport theUruguay Round oftradenegotiations
andtoproducethe"ReviewandAssessmentofSchedulesofConcessions"fortheMarketAccess
Negotiations. IDBtariff information andimport statistics areunloaded from thedatabase
andconverted totheformats oftheTariff Study files, thepredecessor totheIDB. Theoutput
isproduced either inhard-copy form oronPCdiskettes inaformatted manner, suitable for
usewithPCsoftware suchasspreadsheets. Reports areavailable atthetariff lineleveland
atsummary levels.
(3) Another series ofprograms produce copies ofIDBfilesatthetarifflinelevelinseveral formats,
either oncomputer tapesoronPCdiskettes. Adescription oftheformats available iscontained
inthisdocument.IDB/URM/6
Page6
B.REPORTS AVAILABLE INTHE SECRETARIAT
Mainframe application systems developed bytheSecretariat areavailable toanalyze IDBinformation.
Theinformation isunloaded fromthedatabaseandconverted totheformats required bytheapplication
programs. Foreachreporter, tariffinformation andimport statistics aremerged intoasingle fileand
standard trade aggregates arecalculated foreachtariff line.These filesareusedasthesource of
information fortheIDBreporting programs.
Reports similar tothose oftheIDBCD-ROM (listed above) canbecompiled onthemainframe. Other
reports available are:
- atthetariff linelevel,
- Tariff Concession Evaluation,
- Detail Listing;
- atsummary levels oftheHSnomenclature orforstandard product groups,
- Agricultural Products -Profile ofTariff Reductions andScope ofSpecial Safeguard,
- Industrial Products -Imports, Scope ofBindings, Tariff Averages andCoverage of
Concessions.
Inaddition toprintoutput, filescanbecreated topermit thedownloading oftheinformation toaPC
forfurther processing.
1.Reports atthetariff linelevel
1.1 Tariff concession evaluation
Thisreport presents tariff andimport information forapartner, group ofpartners orastandard trade
aggregate inagiven reporter 'smarket.
Selection criteria canbeapplied onthebasisofthenomenclature, onthevalue ofimports, ontherank
orshare ofthepartner forwhich theevaluation isrequested andonthelevelofduties. Theselection
criteria issimilar tothatdescribed inPART VIAddendum -"TheIDBCD-ROM".
Asummary oftheselection criteria which canbeapplied isasfollows:
Nomenclature
Tariff linescanbeselected atvarious levels oftheHS(orCCCN) nomenclature -two-
digit, four-digit, five-digit orsix-digit, oratthetariff linelevel. Several chapters,
four-digit headings, six-digit headings and/or tariff linescanbespecified foragiven
evaluation. Petroleum products canbeincluded orexcluded from theselection.
Trade aggregate
Either anindividual partner, group ofpartners orastandard trade aggregate canbe
selected asthetrade aggregate usedforimports intheevaluation.IDB/URM/6
Page7
Duty type OneMFN dutycanbeselected fortheevaluation -either theMFN Bound duty, the
statutory dutyortheeffectively applied duty.
Import value Thetariff linescanbeselected byfixing athreshold inthevalue ofimports forthe
partner orpartner group forwhich theevaluation isrequested.
Rank/share Thetarifflinescanbeselected according totherankamong allsuppliers ofthepartner
forwhich theevaluation isrequested, oraccording totheshare intotalimports ofthe
partner orpartner group selected. Ifthepartner isaGSPbeneficiary, anadditional
selection criterion canbethepartner 'srankamong allGSPbeneficiaries.
Duty level Tariff linescanbeselected according tothelevelofthedutyrequested.
Thereport ispresented inthree parts. Thefirstpartshows tariff andimport information atthetariff
linelevel foreachitemselected. Theother parts present summary information foralltariff lines
extracted forboththeselected dutyandthepost-Uruguay duty.
Tariff lineinformation
Thetariffinformation printed isthetariffline,theproduct description, thedutyselected
andthecorresponding dutycodes. ThePost-Uruguay dutyrateisalsoshown andthe
applied dutycanalsobeprinted onrequest. Thetrade information presented isthe
imports fromthepartner orpartner group forwhich theevaluation isrequested, imports
fromallorigins andimports fromMFN origins, excluding GSPandother preferential
origins. Optionally, other trade aggregates canbeshown. Foreachtrade aggregate
reported, thereport shows therankandshare ofthepartner orpartner group forwhich
theevaluation isrequested, along withthefirstfivesuppliers.
Tariff andtrade profiles
Thesecond partofthereport shows tariff andtrade profiles interms ofthenumber
oflinesandimports fromthepartner orpartner group andcorresponding imports from
allorigins. Totals areprinted foragriculture, industry andallproducts combined.
Tariff averages
Thethird partofthereport shows simple andtrade-weighted tariff averages ofthe
duties extracted andthestandard deviation ofthesimple average. Theweighted average
iscalculated onthebasis ofimports ofthepartner orpartner group selected. The
averages areshown foragriculture, industry andallproducts combined.
Printing ofthefirstpartofthereport showing detailed tariff lineinformation canbesuppressed, or
theinformation tobeprinted canbelimited toreduce thevolume ofthereport. Thefirstpartofthe
report canbeprinted inseveral sequences: tariff linenumber, decreasing value ofimports fromthe
partner orpartner group, rankofthepartner orpartner group, decreasing value ofthedutyrate.
Asimplified formofthisreport canbeprovided onPCdiskettes inaformatted manner, suitable for
usewithPCspreadsheet software.
1.2 Detail listing
Thisreport prints dutyandimport information atthetariff linelevel. Theinformation printed isfor
themostpartthesame asforthe"Tariff LineQuery" described inPART VIAddendum -"TheIDB
CD-ROM".IDB/URM/6
Page8
2.Reports atsummary levels
Thesummary reports canbeproduced forMulti-Lateral Trade Negotiations (MTN) product categories
(refer toPART VI-Addendum forthedefinition ofthese product categories).
2.1 Agricultural Products -Profile ofTariff Reductions andScope ofSpecial Safeguard
Thissummary iscompiled foragricultural products. Itshows:
- number oftariff lines-total, duty-free andnotavailable,
- value ofimports fortheimport weighting pattern,
- simple average oftariff reductions offered ondutiable tariff lines,
- numberoftarifflinesandcorrespondingweightimportsbyrangesoftariffreductionpercentages,
- percentage oftariff linessubject totariffication onwhich thespecial safeguard provision has
beenindicated.
Thereport canbecompiled fortrade patterns World, MFN+GSP, GSPorWTO Members.
2.2 Industrial Products -Scope ofBindings, Tariff Averages andCoverage ofConcessions
Thissummary iscompiled forindustrial products. Itshows :
- number oftariff linesexcluding notavailable duties,
- value ofimports fortheimport weighting pattern excluding notavailable imports,
- percentagesofboundtarifflinesandcorrespondingweightimportsforthePre-Uruguaysituation
andasaresult oftheconcessions offered,
- weighted tariffaverages forthePre-Uruguay situation andasaresult oftheconcessions offered
andthepercentage change,
- percentages oftariff linesandcorresponding weight imports where aconcession wasmade,
- percentages oftariff linesandcorresponding weight imports where thebaseratewasalready
bound duty-free,
- percentages oftarifflinesandcorresponding imports where thebaseratewasunbound duty-free
andwhere noconcessions were made,
- percentages oftariff linesandcorresponding imports where noconcession wasmade,
- percentages oftariff linesandcorresponding imports where thebaserateorconcession was
notavailable.
Thereport canbecompiled fortrade patterns World, MFN+GSP, GSPorWTO Members.IDB/URM/6
Page9
C.IDBFILE COPIES
IDBinformation canbedisseminated tousers onvarious media andinvarious formats atthetariff
linelevel. IDBinformation isunloaded onsequential filesaccording totheformats described insection
Dofthisdocument. Theunloading procedure creates copies ofindividual filesforagiven reporter
andreference year. Theappropriate reference filesarealsoprovided (country codes, quantity units,
etc.). Thefilecopies canbeobtained onthefollowing media:
(1) Sequential filesonmagnetic tapeforprocessing onmainframe computers:
Magnetic tapes canbecreated inEBCDIC orASCII character representations andindensities
of6250 bitsperinch(bpi)or1600 bpi.
(2) Sequential filesonPCdiskettes:
Thesequential unloaded filesaretransferred toaPCwhere theyarecompressed using data
compression software. Thecompressed filesarecopied toPCdiskettes accompanied bythe
software todecompress thedata. Alsoprovided onthePCdiskettes arethereference files
described above.
TheSecretariat uses3.5-inch high-density diskettes (1.4or2.8megabytes). Ifrequired, the
following types ofdiskettes canbeprovided:
3.5-inch double-density (720kilobytes)
5.25-inch high-density (1.2megabytes)
5.25-inch double-density (360kilobytes).IDB/URM/6
Page10
D.IDBFILE FORMATS AND CONTENTS
Types offormats available
ForIDBfilecopies, thetariffandimport filescanbemade available either intheIDBstandard formats
orintheTariff Study1formats described below. TheTariff Study formats aremade available tothose
WTO Members stillusing these formats intheirownapplication systems. TheTariff Study format
filesuseIDBcodes forcountries andquantity unitsandTariff Study codes forthedutyinformation.
Bothsetsofformats canbemade available oneither computer tapes oronPCdiskettes.
Thestandard formats fortheIDBreference fileswhich accompany thedatafileswhen arequest for
filecopies ismade totheSecretariat arealsodescribed below.
Notations usedinthefilesformats
Inthedescriptions oftheformats, eachindividual dataelement isfollowed byanattribute
containing aseries ofsymbols:
(1) Datatype:Anumeric dataelement canonlycontain decimal numbers. Analphanumeric
dataelement cancontain letters, numbers, blanks orother characters. "N"isusedfor
numeric dataand"A"foralphanumeric data.
(2) Element length :(n)isusedtoindicate thenumber ofcharacters. Fornumeric fields
containing decimal places, theformat (nVm) hasbeenused, with"n"giving thenumber
ofinteger digits, "V"indicating theplace oftheimplied decimal point and"m"giving the
number ofdecimal places.
(3) Field justification :Justification indicates ifthevalue ofadataelement should bealigned
ontheleftortheright. "RJ" indicates rightjustification and"LJ"leftjustification.
(4) Padding character :Thepadding character isthevalue which should beusedtofill
unused characters inthefield. "0"indicates zerodigitpadding and"b"indicates blank
character padding. The"b"character hasalsobeenusedintheformats todenote a
physical blank character.
Thefollowing example shows howthephysical recording ofanumber isaffected byits
datatype, length, justification andpadding.
Number FormatPosition infield
1 2 3 4 5
789 A(5)/LJ/b 7 8 9
789 N(5)/RJ/0 0 0 7 8 9
789 N(4V1)/RJ/0 0 7 8 9 0
78.9 N(4V1)/RJ/0 0 0 7 8 9
Intheexample for"78.9", theimplied decimal place isbetween positions 4and5.
1TheTariff Study application system isthepredecessor totheIDB.IDB/URM/6
Page11
1.Import statistics file
1.1 Standard format -key
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-41 A(41) Comprises theyear, reporting country,
direction oftrade, tariff item,partner,
tariff treatment andtypeofrelation.
Year 1-2 N(2) Year oftheimport statistics.
Reporting country 3-7A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
Filler 8-12 A(5)/LJ/b Notused.
Direction oftrade 13-13 N(1) "1"forimports; other codes are
reserved forfuture useinorder touse
thesame format torecord exports orre-
exports.
Tariff item 14-34 A(21)/LJ/b Tariff itemnumber.
Partner country 35-39 A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country codefortrading
partner oraggregate.
Tariff treatment 40-40 N(1) Identifies thetariff treatment applicable
toeachtariff itemforeachpartner.
Thetariff treatment canbeusedtolink
theimports statistics totheir
corresponding dutyrecorded inthe
coded tariff file.
0=most-favoured-nation
1=free-trade area
2=zone-zone (trade between
preferential areas)
3=other preferential agreements
4=GSP(most-favoured-nation)
5=GSP(other preferences)
6=GSP(general)
8=general
9=unspecified.
Ifthetariff treatment isnotprovided in
thesubmission, itissettothevalue
recorded inthetypeofrelation.
Type ofrelation 41-41 N(1) Identifies thetypeoftariff relation
between thereporting country andeach
trading partner.
Thecodes usedarethesame asforthe
tariff treatment described above.
DATA 42-120 A(79) Seenextpageforlayout:IDB/URM/6
Page12
1.Import statistics file
1.2 Standard format -data
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-41 A(41) Comprises theyear, reporting country,
direction oftrade, tariff item, partner, tariff
treatment andtypeofrelation.
Customs value -
U.S.dollars42-54N(13)/RJ/0
(unsigned)Theequivalent ofthecustoms value inU.S.
dollars.
Customs value -
National currency55-67N(13)/RJ/0
(unsigned)Customs value or,ifthecustoms value was
notprovided inthesubmission, theCIF
value innational currency.
Primary quantity
unit68-72A(5)LJ/b WTO 3-digit quantity unitcode, indicating
theprimary unitofquantity inwhich import
volumes arerecorded.
Primary quantity 73-85N(13)/RJ/0
(unsigned)Import volume intheprimary unitof
quantity.
Supplementary
quantity unit86-90A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit quantity unitcode: thiselement
isinformed when thedutyattached tothe
itemisexpressed inaform using twounits
ofquantity (e.g.1$/KG plus2$/PCE); ifthis
element isinformed, thesupplementary
quantity isinformed; ifthiselement isblank,
thesupplementary quantity isblank.
Supplementary
quantity91-103 N(13)/RJ/0
(unsigned)
orA(13)/LJ/bImport volume inthesupplementary unitof
quantity: ifthiselement isinformed, the
supplementary quantity unitisinformed; if
thiselement isblank, thesupplementary
quantity unitisblank.
1.3 Dataset characteristics:
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 120characters
Block length: 23400 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page13
2.Coded tariff file
2.1 Standard format -key
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,measure type, dutytype, partner,
validity period andrecord number.
Year 1-2N(2) Year ofthecoded tariff submission.
Reporting country 3-7A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
Filler 8-12 A(5)/LJ/b Notused.
Tariff line
Tariff item
Non-tariff suffix
Tariff suffix13-37
13-33
34-35
36-37A(25)
A(21)/LJ/b
A(2)
A(2)Tariff linenumber which comprises:
Tariff itemnumber,
Non-tariff suffix: blank inthecoded tariff file,
Tariff suffix :blank, "00"or"01-"99".
Validity period
Start-date
End-date38-53
38-45
46-53A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateofdutyorblank ifundetermined.
End-date ofdutyorblank ifundetermined.
Measure type 54-55 N(2) "10"forcustoms tariff measures; other codes
areusedfornon-tariff measures.
Partner country 56-60 A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country codeforbilateral
A.V.E 's;"000 "when thedutyapplies toall
countries; anaggregate codemaybeused
when thedutyapplies toagroup ofcountries.
Duty type 61-63 A(3)/LJ/b "01"-"09", "09B" and"09F" forMFN
duties;"10 "-"49" and"80"-"99" forother
duties; thefirstposition isthetariff treatment
codewhich canbeusedtolinkthedutytoits
corresponding imports statistics which are
recorded bytariff treatment.
Record number
Record type
Language code
Sequence Number64-66
64-64
65-65
66-66A(3)
N(1)
A(1)
A(1)Comprises record type, language andsequence
number:
"1"forthedutyrateanditsvarious codes,
"2"forthenormalized coding ofnonad
valorem duties,
"3"fortextattached totheduty,
"4"forfootnotes.
Blank forrecord types "1"and"2",
"1"-"3" forrecord types "3"and"4",
"1"forEnglish; "2"forFrench; "3"for
Spanish.
Blank forrecord types "1"and"2",
"0"-"9" toindicate theorder oftextand
footnote records.
DATA 67-144 A(78) Varies according totherecord typeas
indicated inthefollowing pages:IDB/URM/6
Page14
2.Coded tariff file
2.2 Standard format -Record type1:Duty rateandcodes
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,measure type,
dutytype, partner,
validity period andrecord number.
Duty rate 67-72N(3V3)/RJ/0 Freeduties arerecorded as000000.
Rates higher than"999.997" percentare
recorded as999998.
Unavailable ratesarerecorded as999999.
Nature 73-73A(1) "A"=Advalorem duty, "S"=Specific
duty,
"C"=Compound duty, "M"=Mixed duty,
"V"=Variable duty, "O"=Other duty,
"T"=Tariffied measure.
Estimation 74-74A(1) "E"=Estimation supplied bythereporting
country,
"C"=Estimation calculated bytheWTO
Secretariat,
Blank =Notapplicable.
A.V.E. calculation
method75-75A(1) "1"=Calculation based onWTO imports,
"2"=Calculation based onMFN imports,
"3"=Calculation based ontotalimports,
"9"=Other method,
Blank =Notapplicable.
Averaging method 76-76A(1) "S"=Simple average,
"W"=Weighted average,
Blank =Notapplicable.
Binding status 77-77A(1) "B"=Bound atprevailing dutyrate,
"C"=Bound atoneceiling dutyrate,
"D"=Bound atdifferent dutylevels,
"U"=Unbound duty,
Blank =Notapplicable: onlyfornon-MFN
duties.
Binding coverage 78-78A(1) "X"=Binding covering partofthetariff
line,
Blank =Notapplicable.
Limitation status 79-79A(1) "C"=Ceiling orother limitation,
"Q"=Quota orother quantitative limitation,
"S"=Safeguard measure,
Blank =Notapplicable.
Duty coverage 80-80A(1) "X"=Duty covering partofthetariff line,
Blank =Notapplicable.IDB/URM/6
Page15
2.Coded tariff file
2.3 Standard format -Record type2:Normalized coding
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,measure type, dutytype, partner,
validity period andrecord number.
Part1 67-92A(26) Each partiscomposed ofanadvalorem anda
specific dutywhich maybelinked together by
thefirstoperator ofthepart;eachpartcanbe
linked tothenextpartbyitssecond operator.
Advalorem rate167-72N(3V3)/RJ/0
orA(6)Blank ifnotapplicable;
Otherwise numeric andnot"000000".
Operator 1 73-73A(1) Blank ifadvalorem rate1isblank;
Otherwise "R","P"or"M"2.
Value 1 74-86N(8V5)/RJ/0
orA(13)Blank ifnotapplicable;
Otherwise numeric andnot"000000".
Quantity unit1 87-91A(5)/LJ/b Blank ifvalue 1isblank;
Otherwise WTO 3-digit quantity unitcode.
Operator 2 92-92A(1) Blank, "R","P","M", "H", or"L"2.
Part2 93-118 A(26) Seedescription forPart1.
Advalorem rate293-98N(3V3)/RJ/0
orA(6)Blank ifnotapplicable;
Otherwise numeric andnot"000000".
Operator 3 99-99A(1) Blank, "R","P","M", "H" or"L"2
Value 2 100-112 N(8V5)/RJ/0
orA(13)Blank ifnotapplicable;
Otherwise numeric andnot"000000".
Quantity unit2 113-117 A(5)/LJ/b Blank ifvalue 2isblank;
Otherwise WTO 3-digit quantity unitcode.
Operator 4 118-118 A(1) Blank, "R","P","M", "H", or"L"2.
Part3 119-144 A(26) Seedescription forPart1.
Advalorem rate3119-124 N(3V3)/RJ/0
orA(6)Blank ifnotapplicable;
Otherwise numeric andnot"000000".
Operator 5 125-125 A(1) Blank, "R","P","M", "H" or"L"2.
Value 3 126-138 N(8V5)/RJ/0
orA(13)Blank ifnotapplicable;
Otherwise numeric andnot"000000".
Quantity unit3 139-143 A(5)/LJ/b Blank ifvalue 2isblank;
Otherwise WTO 3-digit quantity unitcode.
Operator 6 144-144 A(1) Blank, "H", or"L"2.
2Seenextpageforoperator valuesIDB/URM/6
Page16
2.Coded tariff file
2.3 Standard format -Record type2:Normalized coding (continued)
Values ofthenormalized coding operators areasfollows:
-"R"for"or",
-"P"for"plus",
-"M"for"minus",
-"H"for"whichever ishigher",
-"L"for"whichever islower",
-Blank fornotapplicable.
Tables "A"and"B"onthefollowing pages illustrate thecoding ofvarious types ofduties which
canbefound incustoms tariffs. Certain cases canbecoded invarious ways, depending onthe
order inwhich theadvalorem andspecific parts arecoded. These cases havethesame group
number inthetables.
Thecases illustrated intables "A"and"B"havebeentranslated intoalogical tablewhich isused
inthecoded tariff conversion inorder todetermine ifthenormalized coding recorded in
submissions iscorrect. Ifadditional valid cases aresubmitted, theywillbeadded tothetable.
Table "A"contains thecases which willberecorded inthestandard formats.
Table "B"contains cases which arethelogical equivalent ofthetable"A"case andgroup number
indicated. Thedifference between eachofthese cases anditstable"A"counterpart istheposition
inwhich theoperator iscoded. These table"B"cases areautomatically converted totheirtable
"A"counterpart intheconversion phase, inorder toreduce thenumber ofcases, thusmaking
calculations using thenormalized coding simpler.
When twooperators areshown together, itmeans thattheoperator canhaveeither value. For
example, "PM" means thateither "P"or"M"canbecoded fortheoperator inquestion. Inthese
examples, "KG" stands forkilogramme and"PCE" stands forpiece.IDB/URM/6
Page17
2.Coded tariff file
2.3 Standard format -Record type2:Normalized coding (continued)
Table A-cases recorded inthestandard formats
Case-
GroupRate1 Oper1 Value
Unit1Oper2 Rate2 Oper3 Value
Unit2Oper4 Rate3 Oper5 Value
Unit3Oper6
1-1 2$/KG
2-2 2$/KG PM 2$/PCE
3-3 10% PM 2$/KG
4-3 2$/KG PM 10%
5-4 10% PM 2$/KG R 3$/KG HL
6-4 2$/KG PM 10% R 3$/KG HL
7-4 3$/KG R 10% PM 2$/KG HL
8-4 3$/KG R 2$/KG PM 10% HL
9-5 10% PM 2$/KG R 2$/PCE PM 11% HL
10-5 10% PM 2$/KG R 11% PM 2$/PCE HL
11-5 2$/KG PM 10% R 2$/PCE PM 11% HL
12-5 2$/KG PM 10% R 11% PM 2$/PCE HL
13-6 10% PM 2$/KG R 12% HL
14-6 12% R 10% PM 2$/KG HL
15-6 12% R 2$/KG PM 10% HL
16-6 2$/KG PM 10% R 12% HL
17-7 10% PM 2$/KG R 12% HL R 11% HL
18-8 10% PM 2$/KG PM 2$/PCE
19-8 2$/KG PM 10% PM 2$/PCE
20-8 2$/KG 2$/PCE PM 10%
21-9 10% R 2$/KG HL
22-9 2$/KG R 10% HL
23-10 10% R 2$/KG HL R 2$/PCE HL
24-10 2$/KG R 10% HL R 2$/PCE HL
25-11 12% R 2$/KG HL R 11% HL
26-11 2$/KG R 12% HL R 11% HL
27-12 10% R 2$/KG HL R 12% PM 1$/KG HL
28-12 10% R 2$/KG HL R 1$/KG PM 12% HL
29-12 2$/KG R 10% HL R 12% PM 1$/KG HL
30-13 2$/KG R 2$/PCE HL
31-14 30% R 2$/KG PM 2$/PCE PM 10% HL
32-15 2$/KG R 10% HL PM 10%
Field
no.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12IDB/URM/6
Page18
2.Coded tariff file
2.3 Standard format -Record type2:Normalized coding (continued)
Table B-cases converted totheir table Acounterparts
Case-
GroupRate1 Oper1 Value
Unit1Oper2 Rate2 Oper3 Value
Unit2Oper4 Rate3 Oper5 Value
Unit3Oper6
2-2 2$/KG PM 2$/PCE
5-4 10% PM 2$/KG R 3$/KG HL
8-4 3$/KG R 2$/KG PM 10% HL
9-5 10% PM 2$/KG R 2$/PCE PM 11% HL
12-5 2$/KG PM 10% R 11% PM 2$/PCE HL
14-6 12% R 10% PM 2$/KG HL
16-6 2$/KG PM 10% R 12% HL
18-8 10% PM 2$/KG PM 2$/PCE
20-8 2$/KG 2$/PCE PM 10%
24-10 2$/KG R 10% HL R 2$/PCE HL
24-10 2$/KG R 10% HL R 2$/PCE HL
25-11 12% R 2$/KG HL R 11% HL
25-11 12% R 2$/KG HL R 11% HL
27-12 10% R 2$/KG HL R 12% PM 1$/KG HL
27-12 10% R 2$/KG HL R 12% PM 1$/KG HL
30-13 2$/KG R 2$/PCE HL
31-14 30% R 2$/KG PM 2$/PCE PM 10% HL
Field
no.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12IDB/URM/6
Page19
2.Coded tariff file
2.4 Standard format -Record types 3and4:Textandfootnotes
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,measure type, dutytype, partner,validity
period andrecord number.
Text 67-136 A(70) Textrelating tothedutyforrecord type"3";
Footnote relating tothedutyforrecord type
"4".
Note thatFrench andSpanish textsshould be
recorded using upper casecharacters, since
there isnostandard codeusedtorepresent
accented characters.
2.5 Dataset characteristics:
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 144characters
Block length: 23472 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page20
3.Textual tariff file
3.1 Standard format -key
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-39A(39) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,element number, sub-element number,
language codeandsequence number.
Year 1-2N(2) Year ofthetextual tariff submission.
Reporting country 3-7A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
Tariff line
Tariff item
Non-tariff suffix
Tariff suffix8-32
8-28
29-30
31-32A(25)
A(21)/LJ/b
A(2)
A(2)Tariff linenumber which comprises:
Tariff itemnumber,
Non-tariff suffix: blank inthetextual tariff file
Tariff suffix :blank, "00"or"01-"99".
Element number 33-34N(2) Identifies thetypeofinformation recorded:
02-Legal product description,
03-Information onpresent concession,
04-Present instrument,
05-Present Initial Negotiating Right (INR),
06-FirstInstrument,
07-Earlier concession instrument andINRs,
08-Reference toearlier INRs,
09-Abbreviated product description,
10-Earlier concession duty.
Sub-element 35-36A(2) Blank forallelements except "02", "07"and
"10".
Forelement "02", "99"indicates atariff line
description; "01"-"98" indicates atariff
heading description;
Forelements "07"and"10", "01"-"99" for
eachconcession identified.
Language code 37-37A(1)/LJ/b "1"-"3" forelements "02"and"09"; blank for
other elements.
"1"forEnglish; "2"forFrench; "3"for
Spanish.
Sequence number 38-39 A(2)/LJ/b "01"-"04" forelement "09";
"01"-"99" forother elements:
Indicates theorder oftextrecords forelements
"02", "03", "08", "09"and"10".
Indicates theoccurrence number forelements
"04", "05", "06"and"07".
DATA 40-117 A(78) Varies according totheelement number as
indicated inthefollowing pages:IDB/URM/6
Page21
3.Textual tariff file
3.2 Standard format -Elements 02,03,08,09,10
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-39 A(39) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,element number, sub-element number,
language codeandsequence number.
Footnote number 40-43N(4)/RJ/0
orA(4)Footnote number which wastransferred from
element "11"ofthesubmission format; blank
ifnofootnote wasrecorded.
Filler 44-45A(2)/LJ/b Notused.
Indent 46-47A(2)/LJ/b Forelement "02", maybeblank or"01"-"99"
toindicate thenumber ofcharacters thattext
should beindented; forother elements, blank.
Text 48-117 A(70)/LJ/b Textual information.
Note thatFrench andSpanish textsshould be
recorded using upper casecharacters, since
there isnostandard codeusedtorepresent
accented characters.
3.3 Standard format -Elements 04,06
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-39A(39) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,element number, sub-element number,
language codeandsequence number.
Footnote number 40-43N(4)/RJ/0
orA(4)Footnote number which wastransferred from
element "11"ofthesubmission format; blank
ifnofootnote wasrecorded.
Instrument 44-53A(10)/LJ/b Forelement "04", theWTO legalinstrument
containing thepresent concession;
forelement "06", theWTO legalinstrument
through which theconcession wasfirst
established.IDB/URM/6
Page22
3.Textual tariff file
3.4 Standard format -Element 05
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-39A(39) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,element number, sub-element number,
language codeandsequence number.
Footnote number 40-43N(4)/RJ/0
orA(4)Footnote number which wastransferred from
element "11"ofthesubmission format; blank
ifnofootnote wasrecorded.
Present INR 44-48A(5)/LJ/b WTO alphameric INRcountry code.
3.5 Standard format -Element 07
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-39A(39) Comprises theyear, reporting country, tariff
line,element number, sub-element number,
language codeandsequence number.
Footnote number 40-43N(4)/RJ/0
orA(4)Footnote number which wastransferred from
element "11"ofthesubmission format; blank
ifnofootnote wasrecorded.
Earlier instrument 44-53A(10)/LJ/b WTO legalinstrument containing theearlier
concession.
Earlier INR 54-58A(5)/LJ/b WTO alphanumeric INRcountry code.
INRcoverage 59-59A(1)/LJ/b X=INRisheldonpartofthetariff line,
Blank =notapplicable.IDB/URM/6
Page23
3.Textual tariff file
3.6 Structure ofthetextual tariff filekey
Theconversion programs format therecords ofthetextual tariff fileinorder tohavefixed length
records which better suittherequirements ofdisplay andreporting. Thekeyisformatted as
follows:
Submission format IDBstandard format
ElementSub-element
Occur-
rencesData
levelElement Sub-
elementLanguage Sequence Data
level Language Sequence
(2)3(1)3(2)3(2)3(2)3(2)3(2)3(1)3(2)3(2)3
02 L XX LV 02 LV L XX n.a.
03 VL 03 NN
04 NN 04 NN
05 NN 05 NN
06 NN 06 NN
07 XX NN 07 XX NN
07 XX VL 10 XX NN
08 VL 08 NN
09 L XX 09 L XX
3.7 Dataset characteristics:
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 117characters
Block length: 23400 characters
3(n)=length offieldIDB/URM/6
Page24
4.Tariff footnote file
4.1 Standard format
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-14 A(14) Comprises theyear, reporting country,
footnote number, language codeandsequence
number.
Year 1-2N(2) Year ofthetariff footnote file.
Reporting country 3-7A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
Footnote number 8-11 N(4)/RJ/0 Contains thefootnote number which isusedto
linkthefootnote tothecorresponding
element(s) recorded inthetextual tariff file.
Language code 12-12N(1) "1"-"3";
"1"forEnglish; "2"forFrench; "3"for
Spanish.
Sequence number 13-14N(2)/RJ/0 "01"-"99"; indicates thelinenumber ofthe
record.
DATA 15-84A(70) Textofthefootnote.
4.2 Dataset characteristics:
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 84characters
Block length: 23436 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page25
5.Coded non-tariff file
5.1 Standard format -key
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, C.U.
member, tariff line,measure type, measure
code, country affected, validity period and
record number.
Year 1-2N(2) Year ofthecoded non-tariff submission.
Reporting country 3-7A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
C.U. member 8-12 A(5)/LJ/b Ifthereporting country isaCustoms Union,
maycontain theWTO 3-digit country codeof
themember country; otherwise blank.
Tariff line
Tariff item
Non-tariff suffix
Tariff suffix13-37
13-33
34-35
36-37A(25)
A(21)/LJ/b
A(2)
A(2)Tariff linenumber which comprises:
Tariff itemnumber,
Non-tariff suffix: blank or"01"-"99",
Tariff suffix :blank inthecoded non-tariff
file.
Validity period
Start-date
End-date38-53
38-45
46-53A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateofmeasure orblank ifundetermined
End-date ofmeasure orblank ifundetermined
Measure type 54-55N(2) "11"forimport restriction; "61"forexport
restriction;
Country affected 56-60A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country codeidentifying the
country orgroup ofcountries towhich the
measure applies; "000" when themeasure
applies toallcountries.
Measure code 61-63N(3) Thefirstposition identifies thetypeof
measure;
"1"=licensing; "2"=quota;
"3"=prohibition;
"9"=other quantitative restriction.
Record number
Record type
Language code
Sequence Number64-66
64-64
65-65
66-66A(3)
N(1)
A(1)
A(1)Comprises record type, language andsequence
number:
"1"forWTO bodies;
"2"forreferences toWTO documents;
"3"forreferences toGATT Articles;
"4"fortextual information;
"5"forfootnotes.
Blank forrecord types "1"and"2"and"3";
"1"-"3" forrecord types "4"and"5";
"1"forEnglish; "2"forFrench; "3"for
Spanish.
Blank forrecord type"1";
"0"-"9" toindicate therecord number for
record types "2"and"3"ortheorder oftext
forrecord types "4"and"5".
DATA 67-136 A(70) Varies according totherecord typeas
indicated inthefollowing pages:IDB/URM/6
Page26
5.Coded non-tariff file
5.2 Standard format -Record type1:WTO bodies
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, C.U.
member, tariff line,measure type, measure
code, country affected, validity period and
record number.
Body 1 67-68 A(2) WTO body towhich therestriction was
notified;
AG=Trade inAgricultural products,
QR=Notification totheMarket Access
Committee,
NT=Non-tariff measures inventory of
reverse notifications.
Body 2 69-70 A(2) Seedescription forbody 1.
Body 3 71-72 A(2) Seedescription forbody 1.
Body 4 73-74 A(2) Seedescription forbody 1.
Body 5 75-76 A(2) Seedescription forbody 1.
5.3 Standard format -Record type2:WTO documents
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, C.U.
member, tariff line,measure type, measure
code, country affected, validity period and
record number.
Document 1 67-76 A(10)/LJ/b WTO document number.
Document 2 77-86 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription fordocument 1.
Document 3 87-96 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription fordocument 1.
Document 4 97-106 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription fordocument 1.
Document 5 107-116 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription fordocument 1.
Document 6 117-126 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription fordocument 1.
Document 7 127-136 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription fordocument 1.IDB/URM/6
Page27
5.Coded non-tariff file
5.4 Standard format -Record type3:GATT Articles
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, C.U.
member, tariff line,measure type, measure
code, country affected, validity period and
record number.
GATT Article 1 67-76 A(10)/LJ/b GATT Article number.
GATT Article 2 77-86 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription forGATT Article 1.
GATT Article 3 87-96 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription forGATT Article 1.
GATT Article 4 97-106 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription forGATT Article 1.
GATT Article 5 107-116 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription forGATT Article 1.
GATT Article 6 117-126 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription forGATT Article 1.
GATT Article 7 127-136 A(10)/LJ/b Seedescription forGATT Article 1.
5.5 Standard format -Record types 4and5:Textandfootnotes
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-66 A(66) Comprises theyear, reporting country, C.U.
member, tariff line,measure type, measure
code, country affected, validity period and
record number.
Text 67-136 A(70) Textrelating tothemeasure forrecord type
"4";
Footnote relating tothemeasure forrecord
type"5";
Note thatFrench andSpanish textsshould be
recorded using upper casecharacters, since
there isnostandard codeusedtorepresent
accented characters.
5.6 Dataset characteristics:
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 136characters
Block length: 23392 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page28
6.Textual non-tariff file
6.1 Standard format
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-44 A(44) Comprises theyear, reporting country, C.U.
member, tariff line,element number,
sub-element number, language codeand
sequence number.
Year 1-2N(2) Year ofthetextual non-tariff submission.
Reporting country 3-7A(5)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
C.U. member 8-12 A(5)/LJ/b Ifthereporting country isaCustoms Union,
maycontain theWTO 3-digit country codeof
themember country; otherwise blank.
Tariff line
Tariff item
Non-tariff suffix
Tariff suffix13-37
13-33
34-35
36-37A(25)
A(21)/LJ/b
A(2)
A(2)Tariff linenumber which comprises:
Tariff itemnumber,
Non-tariff suffix: "01"-"99",
Tariff suffix :blank inthetextual non-tariff
file,
Element number 38-39 N(2) Identifies thetypeofinformation recorded:
02-Full-text product description,
09-Abbreviated product description.
Sub-element 40-41 A(2)/LJ/b Blank.
Language code 42-42 N(1) "1"-"3":
"1"forEnglish; "2"forFrench; "3"for
Spanish.
Sequence number 43-44 N(2)/RJ/0 "01"-"04" forelement "09"; "01"-"99" for
element "02";
Indicates theorder oftextrecords.
DATA
Filler
Text45-122
45-52
53-122A(78)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(70)Asfollows:
Notused,
Text.
Note thatFrench andSpanish textsshould be
recorded using upper casecharacters, since
there isnostandard codeusedtorepresent
accented characters.
6.2 Dataset characteristics
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 122characters
Block length: 23424 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page29
7.Global reference file
7.1 Standard format -key
Theglobal reference filecontains alltypes ofglobal reference information. Thetypeof
information isidentified bytherecord type. Theformat oftherecords andtherecord keysvary
according totherecord type.
Data element Position Attribute Description
Common key 1-8 A(8) Comprises therecord type; seefollowing
pages:
Restofrecord 9-103 A(95) Varies according totherecord typeas
indicated inthefollowing pages:
7.2 Global reference file-country codes record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-11 A(11) Comprises therecord typeandcountry
code.
Record type 1-8 A(8)/LJ/b "GCTY" forglobal country codes; other
codes areusedforother types of
information.
Country code 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Language 12-12 A(1) "1"forEnglish, "2"forFrench, "3"for
Spanish, blank ifnotapplicable;
thiscodeindicates theWTO official
language inwhich documentation istobe
forwarded tothecountry.
Filler 13-13 A(1) Notused.
Country abbreviation
2characters14-15 A(2) WTO 2-character alphabetic country
abbreviation.
Country abbreviation
3characters16-18 A(3) WTO 3-character alphanumeric country
abbreviation.
Country abbreviation
8characters19-26 A(8)/LJ/b WTO 8-character alphanumeric country
abbreviation.
Country name 27-46 A(20)/LJ/b Country name.
Update date 47-54 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:
YYYYMMDD; fortheSecretariat 's
internal use.
Update time 55-58 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page30
7.Global reference file
7.3 Global reference file-Initial Negotiating Rights record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-11or
1-8+24-26A(11) There are2keysfortheglobal INRfile: the
record typeandcountry code, ortherecord
typeandINRcode.
Record type 1-8 A(8)/LJ/b "GINR" forglobal INRcodes; other codes
areusedforother types ofinformation.
Country code 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit country code; ifthecountry
holding theINR(recorded intheINRcode
below) isamember ofaCustoms Union, the
country codewillcontain theWTO 3-digit
codeoftheCustoms Union andtheINRcode
willcontain theWTO 3-digit codeofthe
member country;
thismethod ofrecording wasnecessary in
order tobeabletolinktheINRs recorded in
thetextual tariff filetoinformation recorded
forthecustoms union inother files;
fornon-C.U. members, thecountry codeand
INRcodehavethesame values.
Update date 12-19 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:
YYYYMMDD; fortheSecretariat 'sinternal
use.
Update time 20-23 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
INRcode 24-26 N(3) WTO 3-digit country codeoftheholder of
theINR;
seedescription ofcountry codeabove.IDB/URM/6
Page31
7.Global reference file
7.4 Global reference file-Customs Union member countries definition record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-14 A(14) Comprises therecord type, C.U. codeand
C.U. member code.
Record type 1-8A(8)/LJ/b "GCUD" forglobal Customs Union
definition; other codes areusedforother
types ofinformation.
Customs Union
code9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit codeoftheCustoms Union.
Customs Union
member code12-14N(3) WTO 3-digit codeofthemember ofthe
Customs Union.
Start-year 15-18A(4) Format: YYYY; Year inwhich theC.U.
member joined theCustoms Union.
End-year 19-22A(4) Format: YYYY; Year inwhich theC.U.
member lefttheCustoms Union; blank ifnot
applicable.
Update date 23-30A(8) Dateofrecord update; format: YYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 31-34A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
7.5 Global reference file-quantity units record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-11 A(11) Comprises therecord typeandquantity unit
code.
Record type 1-8A(8)/LJ/b GQUN" forglobal quantity unitcodes; other
codes areusedforother types ofinformation.
Quantity unitcode 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Quantity unit
abbreviation12-14A(3) WTO 3-character alphabetic quantity unit
abbreviation.
Quantity unit
symbol15-27A(13)/LJ/b WTO 13-character alphanumeric quantity unit
symbol.
Quantity unitname 28-67A(40)/LJ/b Quantity unitname.
Update date 68-75A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 76-79A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM; for
theSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page32
7.Global reference file
7.6 Global reference file-non-tariff measure codes record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-13 A(13) Comprises therecord type, measure typeand
measure code.
Record type 1-8A(8)/LJ/b "GNTM" forglobal measure codes; other
codes areusedforother types ofinformation.
Measure type 9-10 N(2) "11" forimport measures and"61"for
export measures.
Measure code 11-13 N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Measure
symbol14-21 A(8)/LJ/b WTO 8-character alphanumeric measure
symbol.
Measure name 22-91 A(70)/LJ/b Measure name.
Update date 92-99 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 100-103 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM; for
theSecretariat 'sinternal use.
7.7 Global reference file-legal instruments record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-18 A(18) Comprises therecord typeandinstrument.
Record type 1-8A(8)/LJ/b "GLEG" forlegalinstruments; other codes are
usedforother types ofinformation.
Instrument 9-18 A(10) WTO legalinstrument symbol.
Update date 19-26 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 27-30 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM; for
theSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page33
7.Global reference file
7.8 Global reference file-documents record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-18 A(18) Comprises therecord typeanddocument code.
Record type 1-8A(8)/LJ/b "GDOC" forWTO documents; other codes
areusedforother types ofinformation.
Document code 9-18 A(10) WTO document code.
Document symbol 19-88 A(70) WTO document symbol.
Update date 89-96 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 97-100 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM; for
theSecretariat 'sinternal use.
7.9 Global reference file-Articles record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8+
11-20A(11) Comprises therecord typeandArticle code.
Record type 1-8 A(8)/LJ/b "GART" forGATT Articles; other codes are
usedforother types ofinformation.
GATT Part 9-10 A(2) PartoftheGeneral Agreement inwhich the
Article isfound.
Article code 11-20 A(10) GATT Article code.
Article symbol 21-90 A(70) GATT Article symbol.
Update date 91-98 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 99-102 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM; for
theSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page34
7.Global reference file
7.10 Global reference file-aggregates record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-14 A(14) Comprises therecord typeandaggregate
code.
Record type 1-8A(8)/LJ/b "GAGG" forglobal aggregates definition -at
themoment onlytheWTO Member definition
isstored forthisrecord type.
Aggregate code 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit codeoftheaggregate: "900" for
WTO Members; aggregate codes canrange
from "900" through "999".
Aggregate
member code12-14 N(3) WTO 3-digit codeofthemember ofthe
aggregate.
Start-year 15-18 A(4) Format: YYYY; Firstyearforwhich the
member should beincluded intheaggregate.
End-year 19-22 A(4) Format: YYYY; Lastyearforwhich the
member should beincluded intheaggregate;
blank ifnotapplicable.
Update date 23-30 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 31-34 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
7.11 Dataset characteristics
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 103characters
Block length: 23381 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page35
8.National reference file
8.1 Standard format
Thenational reference filecontains alltypes ofnational reference information. Thetypeof
information isidentified bytherecord type. Theformat oftherecords andtherecord keysvary
according totherecord type.
Data element Position Attribute Description
Common key 1-13 A(13) Comprises therecord type, reporting country
andyear; seefollowing pages:
Restofrecord 14-40 A(27) Varies according totherecord typeas
indicated inthefollowing pages:
8.2 National reference file-country codes record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-16or
(1-13+
17-21)A(16) or
A(18)There are2keysforthenational country
file:therecord type, reporting country, year
andWTO partner country codeorthe
record type, reporting country, yearand
national partner country code.
Record type 1-8 A(8)/LJ/b "NCTY" fornational country codes; other
codes areusedforother types of
information.
Reporting country 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Year 12-13 N(2) Reference year.
WTO partner code 14-16 N(3) WTO 3-digit country code.
National
partner code17-21 A(5)/LJ/b National country code.
Type ofrelation 22-22 A(1) Thetypeoftariff relation between the
reporting country andthetrading partner;
seethestandard format fortheimport
statistics fileforcodevalues.
LDC indicator 23-23 A(1) "1"ifthecountry isaleastdeveloped
country (LDC) entitled todifferentiated
preferential treatment; blank notapplicable.
Update date 24-31 A(8) Dateofrecord update;
format:YYYYMMDD; fortheSecretariat 's
internal use.
Update time 32-35 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM; for
theSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page36
8.National reference file
8.3 National reference file-Initial Negotiating Rights record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-16or
(1-13+
29-33)A(16) or
A(18)There are2keysforthenational INRfile:
therecord type, reporting country, yearand
WTO INRcodeortherecord type, reporting
country, yearandnational INRcode.
Record type 1-8 A(8)/LJ/b "NINR" fornational INRcodes; other codes
areusedforother types ofinformation.
Reporting country 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Year 12-13 N(2) Reference year.
WTO INRcode 14-16 N(3) WTO 3-digit INRcode.
Update date 17-24 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 25-28 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
National
INRcode29-33 A(5)/LJ/b National INRcode.
8.4National reference file-quantity units record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-16or
(1-13+
17-21)A(16) or
A(18)There are2keysforthenational quantity unit
file:therecord type, reporting country, year
andWTO quantity unitcodeortherecord
type, reporting country, yearandnational
quantity unitcode.
Record type 1-8 A(8)/LJ/b "NQUN" fornational quantity unitcodes;
other codes areusedforother types of
information.
Reporting country 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Year 12-13 N(2) Reference year.
WTO quantity
unitcode14-16 N(3) WTO 3-digit quantity unitcode.
National
quantity unitcode17-21 A(5)/LJ/b National quantity unitcode.
Update date 22-29 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 30-33 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page37
8.National reference file
8.5 National reference file-non-tariff measure codes record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-18
or
(1-15
+
19-28)A(18) or
A(25)There are2keysforthenational measure
codefile:therecord type, reporting country,
year, measure type andWTO measure code
ortherecord type, reporting country, year,
measure typeandnational measure code.
Record type 1-8 A(8)/LJ/b "NNTM" fornational measure codes; other
codes areusedforother types of
information.
Reporting country 9-11 N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Year 12-13 N(2) Reference year.
Measure type 14-15 N(2) "11"forimport measures; "61"forexport
measures.
WTO measure code 16-18 N(3) WTO 3-digit measure code.
National
measure code19-28 A(10)/LJ/b National measure code.
Update date 29-36 A(8) Dateofrecord update;
format:YYYYMMDD; fortheSecretariat 's
internal use.
Update time 37-40 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
8.6 Dataset characteristics
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 40characters
Block length: 23440 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page38
9.Reporting country file
9.1 Standard format
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8A(8) Comprises thereporter, year, sub-domain and
version.
Reporting country 1-3N(3) WTO 3-digit code.
Year 4-5N(2) Reference yearofthesub-domain.
Sub-domain 6-7A(2) "TM" forimport statistics,
"TC" forcoded tariff,
"TT" fortextual tariff,
"TF" fortariff footnotes,
"NC" forcoded non-tariff,
"NT" fortextual non-tariff.
Version 8-8N(1) "0"-"9" toindicate theversion ofthefile.
DATA 9-114 A(106) Various according tothesub-domain as
follows:IDB/URM/6
Page39
9.Reporting country file
9.2 Reporting country file:Import statistics record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8A(8) Comprises thereporter, year, sub-domain and
version.
Period coverage
Start-date
End-date9-24
9-16
17-24A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
Enddateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
Treatment codes 25-34A(10) Aseries oftenflagsranging from flag0to
flag9,indicating thecorresponding tariff
treatment codes applied bythereporting
country; theseventh flagisnotusedsince
treatment code"7"doesnotexistinthe
import statistics file;eachflaghasavalue of
"X"ifthereporting country applies the
corresponding tariff treatment orblank ifnot
applicable.
HSindicator 35-35A(1) Aflagindicating theleveloftheHS
nomenclature inwhich theimport statistics
arerecorded; "4","5"or"6";blank ifthe
reporting country doesnotusetheHS
nomenclature.
Exchange rate 36-48N(4V9) Theamount ofnational currency equal toone
USdollar: usedtocalculate theUS
dollar value recorded intheimport statistics
file.
Imports currency 49-58A(10) Currency unitusedintheimport statistics
file.
Currency
adjustment factor59-71N(7V6) Theratiooftheimports currency totheduties
currency recorded inthenormalized coding of
specific duties inthecoded tariff file.
Supplementary
quantity indicator72-72A(1) "1"ifsupplementary quantities arerecorded
intheimport statistics file;blank ifnot
applicable.
System oftrade 73-82A(10)/LJ/b Thesystem oftrade ofthereporting country
(general orspecial).
Valuation basis 83-92A(10)/LJ/b Thevaluation basis ofimport values (c.i.f.,
f.o.b., etc).
Type of
reference year93-102 A(10)/LJ/b Fiscal orcalendar.
Update date 103-110 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 111-114 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page40
9.Reporting country file
9.3 Reporting country file:Coded tariff record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8A(8) Comprises thereporter, year, sub-domain and
version.
Period coverage
Start-date
End-date9-24
9-16
17-24A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
Enddateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
HSindicator 25-25 A(1) Aflagindicating theleveloftheHS
nomenclature inwhich thetariff information is
recorded; "4","5"or"6";blank ifthe
reporting country doesnotusetheHS
nomenclature.
Duties currency 26-35 A(10)/LJ/b Currency unitusedinthenormalized coding
ofspecific duties.
Duty assessment 36-45 A(10)/LJ/b Basis forassessing specific duties (netweight,
gross weight, etc).
Update date 46-53 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 54-57 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
9.4 Reporting country file:Textual tariff record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8A(8) Comprises thereporter, year, sub-domain and
version.
Period coverage
Start-date
End-date9-24
9-16
17-24A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
Enddateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
HSindicator 25-25 A(1) Aflagindicating theleveloftheHS
nomenclature inwhich thetariff information is
recorded: "4","5"or"6";blank ifthe
reporting country doesnotusetheHS
nomenclature.
Update date 26-33 A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 34-37 A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.IDB/URM/6
Page41
9.Reporting country file
9.5 Reporting country file:Tariff footnote record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8A(8) Comprises thereporter, year, sub-domain and
version.
Period coverage
Start-date
End-date9-24
9-16
17-24A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
Enddateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
HSindicator 25-25A(1) Aflagindicating theleveloftheHS
nomenclature inwhich thetariff information is
recorded: "4","5"or"6";blank ifthe
reporting country doesnotusetheHS
nomenclature.
Update date 26-33A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 34-37A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
9.6 Reporting country file:Coded non-tariff record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8A(8) Comprises thereporter, year, sub-domain and
version.
Period coverage
Start-date
End-date9-24
9-16
17-24A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
Enddateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
HSindicator 25-25A(1) Aflagindicating theleveloftheHS
nomenclature inwhich thetariff information is
recorded: "4","5"or"6";blank ifthe
reporting country doesnotusetheHS
nomenclature.
Update date 26-33A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 34-37A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Document number 38-47A(10)/LJ/b TheWTO document number containing the
yearofthenotification; thisdocument number
isautomatically generated incoded non-tariff
record type"2"records.IDB/URM/6
Page42
9.Reporting country file
9.7 Reporting country file:Textual non-tariff record
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-8A(8) Comprises thereporter, year, sub-domain and
version.
Period coverage
Start-date
End-date9-24
9-16
17-24A(16)
A(8)/LJ/b
A(8)/LJ/bFormat: YYYYMMDDYYYYMMDD:
Startdateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
Enddateoftheperiod forwhich the
information recorded forthesub-domain and
version refers.
HSindicator 25-25A(1) Aflagindicating theleveloftheHS
nomenclature inwhich thetariff information is
recorded: "4","5"or"6";blank ifthe
reporting country doesnotusetheHS
nomenclature.
Update date 26-33A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 34-37A(4) Time ofrecord update; format: HHMM;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
9.8 Dataset characteristics
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 114characters
Block length: 23370 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page43
10.Harmonized System nomenclature files
10.1 Standard format
There aretwoHarmonized System nomenclature files-onecontaining abbreviated HS
descriptions andanother containing fullHSdescriptions. Their formats areidentical.
Data element Position Attribute Description
Update date 1-8A(8) Dateofrecord update; format:YYYYMMDD;
fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
Update time 9-12 A(4) Time ofrecord creation orupdate; format:
HHMM; fortheSecretariat 'sinternal use.
KEY 13-21A(9) Comprises theHSnumber, language codeand
sequence number.
HSnumber 13-18A(6)/LJ/b Harmonized system number -2-digit, 4-digit,
5-digit and6-digit.
Language code 19-19N(1) "1"forEnglish; "2"forFrench; "3"for
Spanish.
Sequence number 20-21N(2) "01"-"04" forabbreviated HSdescription;
"01"-"99" forfullHSdescription.
Text 22-91A(70) HSdescription.
10.2 Dataset characteristics
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 91characters
Block length: 23387 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page44
11.Import statistics file-Tariff Study format
11.1 Tariff Study format
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-26 A(26) Comprises thereporting country, year,
tariff item, partner, typeofrelation and
tariff treatment.
Reporting country 1-3A(3)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
Year 4-5 N(2) Year oftheimport statistics.
Tariff item 6-18 A(13)/LJ/b Tariff itemnumber -13characters.
Partner country 19-21 A(3)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country codefortrading
partner oraggregate.
Filler 22-22 A(1)/LJ/b Notused.
Type ofrelation 23-23 N(1) Identifies thetypeoftariff relation
between thereporting country andeach
trading partner.
Thecodes usedarethesame asforthe
tariff treatment described below.
Tariff treatment or
quantity unit24-26 A(3)/LJ/b Identifies thetariff treatment applicable
toeachtariff itemforeachpartner.
Thetariff treatment canbeusedtolink
theimports statistics totheir
corresponding dutyrecorded inthe
coded tariff file.
0=most-favoured-nation
1=free-trade area
2=zone-zone (trade between
preferential areas)
3=other preferential agreements
4=GSP(most-favoured-nation)
5=GSP(other preferences)
6=GSP(general)
8=general
9=unspecified
Ifthetariff treatment isnotprovided in
thesubmission, itissettothevalue
recorded inthetypeofrelation.
When thepartner recorded is"999" (all
origins), thisfieldcontains theWTO 3-
digitquantity unitcode, indicating the
primary unitofquantity inwhich
import volumes arerecorded .
Customs value -
U.S.dollars27-38 N(12)/RJ/0
(unsigned)Theequivalent ofthecustoms value in
U.S.dollars.
Primary quantity 39-52 N(14)/RJ/0
(unsigned)Primary import volume.IDB/URM/6
Page45
11.Import statistics file-Tariff Study format
11.2 Dataset characteristics:
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 52characters
Block length: 23452 charactersIDB/URM/6
Page46
12.Tariff file-Tariff Study format
12.1 Tariff Study format
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-23 A(23) Comprises thereporting country, year, tariff
lineandrecord type.
Reporting country 1-3 A(3)/LJ/b WTO 3-digit country code.
Year 4-5 N(2) Year ofthecoded tariff submission.
Tariff line
Tariff item
Tariff suffix6-20
6-18
19-20A(15)
A(13)/LJ/b
A(2)Tariff linenumber which comprises:
Tariff itemnumber,
Tariff suffix :blank, "00"or"01"-"99".
Record type 21-23 A(3) Identifies thetypeofinformation recorded as
follows:
DE1=Firstlineofproduct description,
DE2=Second lineofproduct description,
01B=MFN pre-Uruguay duty,
01F=MFN post-Uruguay duty,
03B=MFN statutory applied duty,
04B=MFN temporary applied duty,
06B=GSPdutyapplicable toGSPcountries,
07B=LDC dutyapplicable toLDC countries
08B=Preferential duty-free-trade area,
09B=Pref. duty-Zone-Zone agreement,
10B=Preferential duty-other agreement,
11B=Preferential duty-other agreement,
12B=General duty.
DATA 24-89 A(66) Product description forrecord types DE1and
DE2. Duty information forother record types.
Duty rate
andcodes24-33 A(10) Seenextpagefordetails.
Normalized
coding34-48 A(15) Seenextpagefordetails.
Duty intext
form49-81 A(33) Text.
Period of
validity for
temporary
duties
Start date
Enddate82-89
82-85
86-89A(8)
A(4)
A(4)Recorded fordutytype04B:
Format =YYMM
Format =YYMMIDB/URM/6
Page47
12.Tariff file-Tariff Study format
12.2 Tariff Study format -record types 01B-12B: Duty information
Data element Position Attribute Description
KEY 1-23 A(23) Comprises thereporting country, year, tariff
lineandrecord type.
Duty rate 24-27 N(3V1)/RJ/0 Freeduties arerecorded as0000.
Rates higher than"999.7" percentare
recorded as9998.
Unavailable ratesarerecorded as9999.
Nature 28-28 A(1) blank =Advalorem duty;
"1"=Specific duty; "2"=Compound duty;
"3"=Mixed duty; "4"=Variable duty;
"5"=Tariffied measure.
Binding status 29-29A(1) Blank =Bound atprevailing dutyrate;
"1"=Bound atoneceiling dutyrate;
"2"=Unbound duty;
"3"=Bound atvarious rates.
Binding coverage 30-30A(1) Blank =Fully bound;
"1"=Binding covering partofthetariff line.
Duty coverage 31-31A(1) Blank =Duty applied toallproducts;
"1"=Tariffication forMFN duties and
partial product coverage fornon-MFN duties.
Estimation 32-32A(1) blank =Notestimated;
"1"=Estimation supplied bythereporting
country;
"2"=Estimation calculated bytheWTO
Secretariat;
"3"=Simple average oftariff sub-items
(recorded onlyontariff items withsuffix =
"00").
Limitation status 33-33A(1) Blank =Nolimitation;
"1"=Safeguard provision forMFN duties
andceiling limitation fornon-MFN duties;
"2"=Quota orother quantitative limitation
fornon-MFN duties;
"3"=Country exclusion fornon-MFN
duties.
Normalized coding
Value
Quantity unit
Rate
Operator34-48
34-40
41-43
44-47
48-48A(15)
N(5V2)
A(3)
N(3V1)
A(1)Duty expression:
Value innational currency,
IDBquantity unit,
Advalorem rate,
"+"=whichever ishigher,
"-"=whichever islower.IDB/URM/6
Page48
12.3 Dataset characteristics:
Record format: Fixed block
Record length: 892characters
Block length: 23407 characters