Following the adoption of the Single Market on 1993, customs formalities between Member States were removed, and so a new data collection system, Intrastat, was set up for intra-EU trade.
External trade data are subject to frequent revisions, as a consequence of errors, omissions or – particularly with the Intrastat system – late declarations by information providers.
Trade flows are aggregated according to the product (main groups of SITC or BEC classification) and according to the partner (geo-economic areas).
Short term indicators include: Long term indicators include: Detailed data record the monthly and annual trade (imports and exports) for the European Union and the euro area as well as for each EU Member State and EFTA countries.
Prior to 1988, data were expressed using the NIMEXE classification of goods for external trade statistics.
Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) The United Nations Statistical Commission at its thirty-seventh session (March 2006) accepted a 4th Revision of it.