Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services

4. Exports and imports of goods and services 
4.61. International goods and services transactions of 
foreign affiliates is another basic indicator relevant to 
FATS. Both balance of payments data and data 
provided by parent enterprises and affiliates in separate 
questionnaires may be appropriate sources for such 
information. To a large extent, the possibilities for 
disaggregating total exports and total imports may 
depend on the sources used to obtain the data. 
4.62. Where the data are obtained through linkages 
with primary data sources for balance of payments 
transactions, breakdowns by product and by origin or 
destination will often be possible. In this event, exports 
and imports of services may be disaggregated, not only 
by the primary activity of the affiliate according to ICFA 
but also by product on a basis compatible with the 
EBOPS. 
4.63. Although linkages with balance of payments data 
may thus provide useful information, it often will be 
difficult or impossible to separately identify the 
transactions of foreign-owned firms in those data. Thus, 
it may be possible to develop the data on exports and 
imports only through the use of separate questionnaires.
In that event, those same breakdowns would be useful, 
but it is unlikely that a large number of countries would 
be able to collect the necessary data with the same 
frequency or in the same detail as provided by balance 
of payments data. However, it may be possible to 
disaggregate exports and imports into a few broad 
categories in which trade with related enterprises would 
be distinguished from trade with unrelated parties, thus 
providing information for one of the last of the elements 
for a phased approach to implementation of the 
Manual
.
73

In addition, trade with the country of the 
parent enterprise could be distinguished from trade with 
other countries. If possible, those breakdowns should be 
obtained separately for goods and services. For inward 
FATS, for example, that would mean disaggregating the 
affiliate’s exports of goods and exports of services into 
(a) exports to the parent enterprise, (b) other exports to 
the country of the parent, and (c) exports to third 
countries. Imports would be similarly disaggregated.