About WITS

The World Bank — in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and in consultation with organizations such as International Trade Center, United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) — developed the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS). This software allows users to access and retrieve information on trade and tariffs. Below is list of international organizations that compile this data:

The UNSD Commodity Trade (UN Comtrade) (UN Comtrade) database contains merchandise trade exports and imports by detailed commodity and partner country data. Values are recorded in U,S. dollars, along with a variety of quantity measures. The database includes information on more than 170 countries, and features statistics that have been reported to the United Nations since 1962. These statistics and data continue to be recorded according to internationally recognized trade and tariff classifications.

The UNCTAD Trade Analysis Information System (TRAINS) contains information on tariffs and non-tariff measures for more than 160 countries. The data on tariffs and non-tariff measures are recorded at the most detailed Commodity Description and Coding System (HS), at the National Tariff Line Level. Tariff information contains not only applied MFN tariff rates, but also to the extent possible, various preferential regimes including the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and other Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) rates including bilateral trade agreement tariff rates.

The WTO's Integrated Data Base (IDB) contains imports by commodity and partner countries and Most Favored Nation (MFN) applied and, where available, data on preferential tariffs at the most detailed commodity level of the national tariffs. The Consolidated Tariff Schedule Data Base (CTS) contains WTO-bound tariffs, Initial Negotiating Rights and other indicators. The CTS reflects the concessions made by countries during goods negotiations (e.g., the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations). The IDB and CTS are practical working tools and there are no implications as to the legal status of the information contained therein.

The World Bank and the Center for International Business, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College Global Preferential Trade Agreements Database provide information on preferential trade agreements (PTAs) around the world, including agreements that have not yet been notified to the World Trade Organization. This resource helps trade policy makers, research analysts, the academia, trade professionals and other individuals better understand and navigate the world of PTAs.

WITS provides multiple ways to access trade, tariff and non-tariff data. It has the following main sections.
TradeStats: Summary trade, tariff, non-tariffs and development indicators
Analytical Databases: Databases derived using official data sources
Global Preferential Trade Access Database (GPTAD): Search across different preferential trade agreements.
WITS Application: Generate your own trade statistics and indicators, using the underlying trade and tariff data. The application also provides tools to perform single and multi-market tariff cut simulations.

Use TradeStats to obtain summary trade and tariff related information without having to execute a query. Key information that can be obtained include:

• Top importing and exporting countries
• Top products that are exported and imported by countries
• Tariffs imposed by countries for merchandise trade
• Trade indicators, such as Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), World Growth, Country growth and others
• Top export and import partners for countries
• Top products exported by countries
• Development Indicators such as GDP, GNI per capita, Trade balance as percentage of GDP and others

This section is also available in Spanish.

For a detailed list of countries and indicators browse the Data Availability and Metadata sections. Use Analytical Data Section to obtain information on various analytical databases created by World Bank like Export of Value Added (EVAD), Labor Content of Exports (LACEX) and Services Value Added. Use Global Preferential Tariff data (GPTAD) to obtain information on preferential trade agreements (PTAs) around the world, including agreements that have not been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is designed to be a valuable resource on PTAs for trade policy makers, scholars, and business operators around the world

USE WITS Application to generate your own Trade Statistics. You can use the application to execute custom queries for analysis. Register and Login to WITS Application to perform the following functions:

• Search, compile and download trade and tariff data by country or product using various product classifications and levels.
• Obtain Non-Tariff Measures information
• Execute trade and tariff queries for multiple reporting and partner countries or country groups and selecting products or product groups in standard (HS and SITC) or derived (BEC, ISIC, GTAP, NACE and more) product nomenclature
• Calculate and compare trade competitiveness of countries.
• Perform single or multi-market tariff cut simulations.

There is no charge to use the WITS software.

However, databases may have different contractual arrangements, therefore access rights and fees may vary depending on the user status:

• Access to UN Comtrade data is free for users with UN prescribed limits. Premium services can be purchased through UNSD;
• Access to UNCTAD TRAINS is free and accessible for all users and
• All users have free access to WTO IDB and CTS tariff data at the tariff-line level. WTO 6 digit data are generally available. Access to tariffline imports data is restricted to certain users based on WTO guidelines.

WITS is both:

• a gateway to merchandise trade and protection statistics through the databases listed above, allowing for retrieving, extracting and even exporting data.
• an analytical and simulation tool to estimate consequences of changes in tariff.

WITS is continuously undergoing improvements. New features are regularly added or updated to enhance user experience. If you have any suggestions, please send your coments to wits@worldbank.org or post your suggestions/feedback in our user forum.

For more information about trade concepts, data usage and features of the WITS Application please visit online help, or download the WITS User Manual.