Reconciliation between
Balance of Payments
and Foreign Trade Statistics
Daniela Comini
Eurostat - Balance of Payments
See document
STD/NAES/TASS/SERV(2007)9
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Figure 1 - Trade in goods balance: BoP and FTS
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0
-10000
-20000
-30000
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Large differences
between BoP and
FTS balances??
Balances of
opposite
signe?
BoP net
FTS net
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I
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99
III
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00
I
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00
III
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01
III
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III
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III
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04
III
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I
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III
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III
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Eurostat’s investigations on the
discrepancies between BoP and FTS
• Produced a number of analitical
documents, including a Working paper
• Some differences between BoP anf FTS are
unavoidable, but …
• The adjustment practices followed by
Member States in the transition from FTS
to BoP are very heterogeneous and should
be harmonised
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Eurostat’s investigations on the
discrepancies between BoP and FTS
• The coverage of transactions in goods
assured by FTS may differ accross MSs, but
this can only partially explain the
etherogeneous practices.
• Sometimes BoP compilers made
adjustements to FTS data without being fully
aware about the coverage assured by FTS.
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How to reduce the discrepancies?
• Time to move from the analysis of the problem to
concrete actions.
• New Task Force Reconciliation BoP-FTS was
created by BoP WG in October 2005, with the
task of defining the priority actions and
developing the tools to increase consistency
beween BoP and FTS
• Partecipants: BoP and FTS experts from Eurostat
and from 10 MSs
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1st Step:
List of special transactions in goods:
treatment in Intrastat, Extrastat and BoP
Purpose: identify all the transactions where
doubts can arise about treatment in EU
IMTS and EU BoP
Same idea as in Annex E of IMTS Compilers
Manual, but extended to a much longer list
of transactions
Growing with time: draft 7, see page 9-34 of
doc STD/NAES/TASS/SERV(2007)9
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From the « List of special transactions»
to the EU Reconciliation Table
The “List of special transactions” has been used to
identify all the conceptual adjustments which can
be expected in the transitions from FTS to BoP
Conceptual adjustments are all those shaded (in
grey) in the “List”; “Practical adjustments, due to
the specific data-coverage assured by national
FTS, should possibly be addressed by FTS
Identified “Conceptual adjustments” are (almost) all
listed in the EU Reconciliation table, to avoid MSs
reporting adjustments under “Others”
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2nd step: the EU Reconciliation Table
Includes most of the conceptual adjustments
identified in the “List”, in bold those which
are considered “fundamental”
To harmonise adjustment practices in MSs, TF
BoP/FTS recommends to look at the “List of
special transactions” before making any
adjustment, and to avoid reporting
adjustments under “Others”
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2nd step: The EU Reconciliation Table
Will be compiled regularly by EU BoP
compilers, as part of BoP Quality reports
Has been slightly amended after the
experience gained with the first pilot-round
See page 36-37 of doc
STD/NAES/TASS/SERV(2007)9
The results of the first pilot-round has been
used by the TF BoP/FTS to identify
« fundamentaI adjustements »
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3rd step: «Fundamental
adjustements » in the transition from
FTS to BoP
• Goods for processing not returning to the
reporting MSs;
• Repairs of goods;
• Goods procured in ports by carriers;
• Returned goods;
• Stocks of goods located abroad;
• Only for imports: CIF/FOB adjustment.
See page 35 of doc STD/NAES/TASS/SERV(2007)9
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Conclusions
• The TF BoP/FTS has delivered two very useful
tools for increasing consistency between BoP
and FTS: the list of transactions and the EU
Reconciliation Table.
• Work on best practices for making the few
adjustments which have been defined as
fundamental is on-going.
• Some concrete effects of the activity of the TF
can already be observed:
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Figure 2: Differences between FTS
and BoP, reporter EU 27, with
partner Extra EU27 (million Euro)
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25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
2006 III
2006 I
2005 III
2005 I
2004 III
2004 I
2003 III
2003 I
2002 III
2002 I
2001 III
2001 I
2000 III
2000 I
1999 I
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1999 III
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-5,000
Credits/Exports
Debits/Imports
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