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 was paid to get 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. We follow Comtrade best practice and prefer the importer's value.
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, so a recent figure can change in subsequent quarters.
Do you track services trade?
No — TradeFlowLookup covers goods only. Services trade (finance, travel, intellectual property, consulting) is published by UNCTAD and the IMF in separate databases.
Why is a particular country missing?
We cover the world's largest trading nations and are continuously adding more reporters, especially smaller economies and those that report intermittently. Countries that have never reported to UN Comtrade (e.g. North Korea) are gaps in the global public dataset itself, not just here.
Can I download the raw data?
For bulk access we recommend UN Comtrade directly at comtrade.un.org. Our site is optimized for look-up and exploration rather than bulk export.
Why is the latest year smaller than the year before?
Often because the latest year is not fully reported yet — late-reporting countries can add tens of billions to global totals after the initial release. We display what is in Comtrade, not a forecast.
Is TradeFlowLookup free?
Yes — free, no account required, and no query limits for normal browsing. We throttle search per IP to protect the service. For programmatic access at scale, please use Comtrade directly.