"First Sale Rule" for Customs Valuation of US Imports - USITC

The 2008 Act requires that the USITC report the use of the First Sale rule by “tariff
classification. . . .including an analysis of the tariff classification of such imported
merchandise on a sectoral basis”. 1 This appendix matches the First Sale data from CBP to
import data reported from the USITC Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb to provide
share and value, if discloseable.
In certain sectors, the value of First Sale imports reported by CBP exceeds the value of
imports reported by DataWeb (which is based on data from the U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of the Census). Discrepancies arise for a number of reasons but
chiefly occur because the First Sale data come directly from import documents and have
not been processed or adjusted by Census. 2 Census notes that its revisions have only a
“negligible effect” on aggregate statistics but “can affect detailed statistics significantly.” 3
Some other discrepancies arise because First Sale data include shipments from U.S.
territories to the United States, but Census does not include these shipments with U.S.
import statistics. 4 Table D.1 shows that known discrepancies account for only a small
share of total First Sale import values, although discrepancies can be large for individual
products. 5
Table D.1 First Sale data discrepancies
Data description a
First Sale value
(Millions of $)
Share of total First Sale
value (Percent)
Discrepancies for which DataWeb reports positive imports 241.7 0.63
First Sale value is between 100 and 110% of customs value 50.0 0.13
First Sale value is between 110 and 200% of customs value 151.8 0.39
First Sale value exceeds 200% of customs value 39.9 0.10
Discrepancies for which DataWeb reports no imports 1,943.8 5.05
Imports in Chapters 98 and 99 321.9 0.84
Imports in Chapters 1 through 97 1,621.9 4.21
Import from U.S. or U.S. territory b 1,618.9 4.20
Low-valued import c 1.0 0.00
Other discrepancy 2.1 0.01
Total 2,185.5 5.67
Sources: CBP (September 2008–August 2009 First Sale data) and U.S. Department of Commerce.
Note: Due to rounding, figures may not sum to totals shown.
a Calculated at the HTS 8-digit rate line level for First Sale transactions reported by exporting country.
b Includes American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
c Excluding low-value shipments from U.S. territories.
1 Section 15422(c)(2)(B). See app. A for legislation.
2 For example, First Sale data include any reported low-value imports (shipments valued at less than
$2,000), while Census estimates the total value of these transactions based on historical trade patterns.
Census also revises its data to reflect any corrections made by importers regarding the value or timing of
imports.
3 Census, “U.S. Merchandise Trade Statistics; A Quality Profile,” 2002, 14.
4 Though not directly comparable to U.S. import statistics (and so not included in table D.3), Census
does publish annual data on shipments from U.S. territories to the United States based on export
classifications. Census, “U.S. Trade with Puerto Rico and U.S. Possessions, 2008,” 2009, C-1 and D-1.
5 For example, limes have a First Sale value that is higher than total imports (see HTS 2008.30.66 in
table D.3).
D-3