Checking Data Availability in TRAINS

As described in The databases TRAINS contains information on Imports, Tariffs and Non-Tariff Measures using the HS nomenclature and from 1988 for earliest reporting countries.

To open the TRAINS catalog:

1. Click on Support Materials to open the menu;
2. Click on the Data Catalog entry.
3. The default catalog is UN COMTRADE click on TRAINS tab to view the TRAINS catalog.

 

Data availability is displayed in a table with countries in rows and years in columns with the following information:

• Country: the reporting country full name;
• ISO3: the reporting country code using the UN ISO3 codification;
• Country Code: the reporting country numerical code;

From there, columns list years in reverse order from the latest available year and back to 1988 (first year of the database). Use the horizontal and vertical scroll bars to navigate through rows and columns respectively.

For a given country/year, an empty cell indicates missing information. That is the case of Angola/2005 in the example above. The following codes indicate data availability in:

• T: Tariffs;
• N: Non-Tariff Measures;
• I: Imports.

Note: for tariffs and non-tariff measures (NTM), indication of availability does not insure complete coverage. For example, some countries may report their MFN Applied tariff structure only and preferential tariffs will be missing. NTM coverage may be partial too. For a comprehensive market access analysis, you may want to make sure protection data is as complete as possible by checking the WTO IDB database and external sources of information (National statistical office …)

TRAINS Tariffs Measures and TRAINS Preference Beneficiaries are tools which provide additional information on available tariff structures and their beneficiaries.

Sorting the TRAINS Catalog

The catalog can be sorted by any column by clicking on the column's label. This is particularly useful for identifying countries for which data is available for a given year: simply click on the year's label.

Saving the TRAINS Catalog

The catalog can be saved as an Excel, csv or tab limited file by clicking on the Download button at the top of the panel. Enter a download Job Name and Job Description. and select the File Format from the dropdown and click on the Download button in the popup window. You can click on Download button to see the download status or Cancel button to continue browsing the TRAINS catalog.

Next: WTOIDBCatalog

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