28 May 1985

22nd plenary meeting

International economic classifications

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolution 229 B (XI) of 12 July 1950,

Considering:

(a) The marked improvement in the international comparability of external trade statistics which has resulted since 1976 from the implementation by Governments and international agencies of the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), Revision 2,

(b) The action taken by the Customs Co-operation Council to maintain the correspondence of the Customs Co-operation Council Nomenclature (CCCN) with SITC Revision 2,

(c) The action taken by the Customs Co-operation Council to revise CCCN and divide the headings thereof into a detailed Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS),

(d) The proposed revision of SITC Revision 2, as described in the report of the Secretary-General on the harmonization of international economic classifications, to be known as the Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 3,

1. Recommends that Member States should report internationally data on external trade statistics according to the Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 3, as far and as soon as possible, it being understood that Member States may not wish to make the change until they would in any case be reviewing their customs nomenclature;

2. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To publish SITC Revision 3, together with commodity indexes and correlation codes between SITC Revision 3, the Harmonized Commodity Desciption and Coding System and the Customs Co-operation Council Nomenclature and between SITC Revision 3 and the Classification by Broad Economic Categories;

(b) To continue and complete, as a matter of priority, the development of the convertibility indexes between SITC Revision 2 and the Standard Foreign Trade Classification (SFTC) used for external trade by States members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, and to establish similar convertibility indexes in respect of SITC Revision 3 and the Standard Foreign Trade Classification;

(c) To arrange that, beginning not later than with data for the full year 1988, the publication of SITC data by United Nations bodies should be, as far as possible, in the form of SITC Revision 3.