Census Bureau is making a “generous” offer to members of the U.S. export trade community: 12 months of data free of charge every 365 days. All one needs to do is submit two documents: (1) Request Letter and (2) Certification of Authority. Request letter should contain the following four (4) elements: Reason for request (i.e. internal company audit); EIN(s) and names of the requesting company and all subsidiaries, affiliates, or business units. Indication of whether your company is a United States Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) or the Authorized Agent (see Foreign Trade Regulations section 30.1 and 30.6(b)(1)); Contact Information: Name, Address, Phone Number, Fax Number, and Email Address. Certification of Authority is pro forma statement affirming one’s entitlement to request. The offer is “generous” when compared to obtaining the similarly situated data for its imports from Census’ sister federal agency – Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP requests for import data are dealt under FOIA rubric of Importer Trade Activity requests (ITRAC). Unlike Census, CBP charges “$250.00 – $300.00.” But, the depending on how far back one wishes to go, the cost may be justified because ITRAC requests entitle one to five (5) years worth of data. The 5…
Read More Comparative Perspective on Census Generous Offer: Free Trade Data on Exports