Frequently Asked Questions

What is an HS code?

HS (Harmonized System) codes are a 6-digit product classification standard maintained by the World Customs Organization. The first 2 digits identify the chapter (e.g. 85 for electrical machinery), 4 digits the heading, 6 digits the subheading. Over 200 countries base their customs tariffs on the HS. See our glossary for more.

Why do importer and exporter figures differ?

Importer-reported values are CIF (cost, insurance, freight) — they include what got paid to get the goods to the importer's border. Exporter-reported values are FOB (free on board) — they stop at the exporter's border. Add timing mismatches, currency conversion, and re-exports, and 5–15% discrepancies between mirror records are normal. Comtrade's best practice is to prefer the importer's value; we follow that.

How current is the data?

Our ETL refreshes daily from UN Comtrade. The most recently reported year is typically preliminary and gets revised 6–18 months later. If you see a number that looks off for 2024, there's a decent chance Comtrade will update it in 2025.

Do you track services trade?

No — TradeFlowLookup covers only goods. Services trade (finance, travel, IP, consulting) is published by UNCTAD and the IMF in separate databases.

Why is country X missing?

Our current representative sample includes 30 major trading nations. As we expand ETL coverage, additional reporters (especially smaller economies and those reporting intermittently) will fill in. Countries that have never reported to Comtrade (e.g. North Korea) will remain gaps in the public dataset globally.

Can I download the raw data?

For bulk access we recommend going to UN Comtrade directly at comtrade.un.org. Our site is optimized for look-up and exploration, not bulk export.

Why is the 2024 figure smaller than 2023?

Often because 2024 data isn't fully reported yet — late-reporting countries can add tens of billions to global totals after the initial release. We display what's in Comtrade, not a forecast.

Is TradeFlowLookup free?

Yes — free, no account required, no query limits for normal browsing. We do enforce per-IP throttling on search to protect the service. For programmatic access at scale, please use Comtrade directly.