External trade in goods

Imports and exports
Imports comprise mainly foreign manufactured goods entering Norway. This can also include re-importation of originally Norwegian-produced goods and processed goods. Exports comprise domestically produced goods sent out of Norway, i.e. the Norwegian statistical territory as defined in Section of population. Also included are reexportation of originally foreign-produced goods and processed goods.

Trade in goods is based on the physical movement of goods across borders, but for some items, such as ships, oil platforms and aircraft, trading often takes place without the occurrence of such movement. Whether there has been an import or export of such goods is therefore determined based on whether a change in economic ownership has taken place cf. also described in the Section of population. Economic ownership is defined as the person entitled to claim the economic benefit and who has the legal responsibility for the risk of the item.

Mainland exports
As from March 2013, the statistics on external trade in goods will use the term mainland exports on the exportation of goods other than crude oil, natural gas, natural gas condensates, ships and oil platforms. Previously, we also used the term traditional goods for these exports, as well as for imports excluding ships and oil platforms. (Balance of payments and the research department still use the term traditional goods. The balance of payments also includes items such as naphtha, propane and butane in its collective term crude oil and natural gas, external trade in goods does not.)

Country
Country of origin is used for imports. With regard to exports, the country of destination is used.

For raw materials, the country of origin is determined according to where the goods are produced. For manufactured goods (processed and refined goods), this is the country in which the goods have obtained the form they have at the time of import. The country of destination is defined as the country, which, on the date of export, is the last known country for which the goods are intended.

For more specific principles in relation to country of origin, the rule for ships, aircraft and oil platforms is that country of origin is the country that previously owned the goods (economic ownership). For Norwegian-produced goods sold abroad and subsequently bought in Norway, the country from which the goods are imported shall be given as the country of origin (manufacturing country).

Mode of transport
Mode of transport is defined as the means of transportation used when goods cross the border, either by import or export (in the Database for Standard Classifications there is a detailed description of mode of transport).

Quantity
For most goods, the quantity is expressed in kilograms (weight excluding packaging), except for ships and electricity, which are measured by gross tonnes and kWh respectively. However, for many goods, the quantity is also available in a different unit of measurement, such as pieces, barrels, cubic metres, carat, litres, pairs etc.

Statistical value
Statistical value is the value when crossing the Norwegian border. Duties, VAT and other taxes are not included in the statistical value.

Upon import, the value should be set to the CIF (Cost Insurance Freight) value, i.e. the value of the goods at the Norwegian border, including the costs associated with the delivery of goods to the border, transport costs and insurance. Similarly, for exports it is the value at the Norwegian border, including the costs associated with transporting it there, called FOB (Free On Board) value. CIF and FOB are two types of delivery terms called Incoterms. The delivery terms are an agreement between buyer and seller as to who bears the risk, responsibility and cost of transportation of the goods to the agreed place. In the Database for Standard Classifications there is an overview of the different delivery terms.

For crude oil exported by ship directly from installations on the Norwegian continental shelf, the value upon departure from the installation is used. In the case of crude oil and natural gas that is piped abroad, this value is determined based onon when it leaves the Norwegian continental shelf. The value of transport in international waters and into a terminal abroad is regarded as export of services.

The statistical value of exports and imports of ships is the transfer value including takeover of debt. With regard toto fish landed abroad (exported) by Norwegian vessels and caught outside the Norwegian customs border, the statistical value is the value of the fish paid to the fishing operator upon the sale of stock (minus the sales organisation fee).

County of production
The county of production is defined as the county in which the added value is greatest.

Classification of goods
The classification by HS (the international customs and statistics nomenclature, the Harmonized System) is a 6-digit grouping of goods organised primarily according to the material characteristics of goods at the time of crossing the border. Only in exceptional cases is the later use of the goods of any significance to the classification. The WCO (World Customs Organization) is responsible for this nomenclature.

The Norwegian customs tariff is based on the HS, but has two more digits, which are national codes. The 7th digit reflects national customs divisions/tariff rates (bound in the WTO - World Trade Organization). The 8th digit is used to cover the national statistical needs and and among others the interests of the Norwegian Agricultural Authority and Ministry of Foreign Affairs interests with regard to import and export regulations. In some cases, the 8th digit is also used to distinguish between goods subject to duties and/or fees. The Norwegian version is published annually on our website along with a text version of the nomenclature developed by Statistics Norway. The detailed commodity list, which includes all commodity numbers, also provides information about the validity of each commodity number.

Due to technological developments and changes in international trade, the HS nomenclature is normally updated every 5 years – with the most recent implementation on 1 January 2012. In addition, minor changes are made in the Norwegian customs tariff every year. The EU also uses the nomenclature of the HS in its publication of foreign trade figures. However, the EU version (available at Eurostat's website); the Combined Nomenclature (CN) - which also has eight digits - is more detailed than the Norwegian version. As mentioned previously, only the first 6 digits are common internationally.

When publishing external trade figures, the UN Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) is mainly used. Here the goods are grouped by level of processing (raw materials, semi-finished and finished goods). As from 1988 to 2006, the SITC-Rev.3 (unstats.un.org) is used, but as of 2007 the SITC-Rev. 4 (available at unstats.un.org as PDF) is used.

The classification BEC (Broad Economic Categories) (at unstats.un.org); the UN classification of commodities by end use, which is based on the SITC, is also used to some extent. This classification is not considered to be a "standard classification" in the same way as for example the SITC, and it is officially acknowledged that countries may have their own version of this grouping in order to satisfy national needs. The Norwegian version of this classification can be found in the Database for Standard Classifications.

The various nomenclatures are listed on the UN’s website, as well as correspondence tables between the different nomenclatures HS, SITC and BEC and their different versions.

The product classification CPA divides goods by industry group, and in external trade we use extracts from this. CPA (Statistical Classification of Productivity by Activity in the European Community) is the EU's central Product by Activity classification. It is a product group that is closely linked to industry, i.e. distinctive products within each activity can be linked to the activity classification NACE Rev.2.

Grouping by country
The Norwegian list of countries used follows the international standard ISO-3166. EU countries use the same standard, except for some deviations of less importance.

In the external trade publications these country groupings are frequently used:

• Nordic countries - trade with Sweden, Denmark, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Finland, Åland and Iceland
• EFTA - trade with Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. European Free Trade Association - Wikipedia
• EU – in the Database for standard classifications current member states at any given time is available
• OECD - for current member states at any given time see the OECD's website
• Developing countries – as from 2007, the figures are according to the OECD’s DAC (DAC stands for Development Assistance Committee) for definitions of countries at any given time that are recognised as recipients of official foreign aid. The DAC list also includes a section on LDCs (Least Developed Countries - defined by the UN) - which we also use in the statistics.
  (Until 2006, these countries were defined as developing countries in the Norwegian trade statistics: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Croatia, Macedonia, Malta, Slovenia - Africa except South Africa - Asia excluding Japan, North and South America except USA, Canada and Greenland - Oceania except Australia and New Zealand.)