In my previous post, The United States – Canada Data Exchange, we went over the agreement between the U.S. and Canada to exchange import statistics. Let’s now talk briefly about the operations involved in the data exchange that help facilitate its continued smooth operation!

The Monitoring Committee, comprised of Statistics Canada (STC) and the U.S. Census Bureau (Census), has met semi-annually over the past several years. The purpose of these meetings is to identify and address operational issues that might affect the successful operation of the data exchange. The last meeting the Monitoring Committee held was here at Census in May 2011. I would say that though these meetings are formal, the relationship Census and STC have developed over the years has led to a great working relationship and the rapport amongst the two agencies has fostered effective communication; therefore, productive meetings! The meetings include a round table discussion of various agenda items.

One of the topics of discussion at the last meeting included “Exports out of U.S. Foreign Trade Zones to Canada”. We learned from STC that some Canadian brokers/importers may not know they are dealing with a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ); consequently, we are not capturing complete and accurate FTZ information.

This is where we need help from all of you exporters out there that are exporting out of U.S. FTZs to Canada! Please ensure your Canadian buyers have an accurate FTZ number to provide to the Canadian importer/broker to report on the “Canada Customs Coding Form” (B3) as the “Place of Export” (Field 13). You will directly assist us in improving the quality of our trade statistics!

The most current list of FTZs can be found on the Foreign Trade Zone Board’s website.