ITC OFFERS “INTERACTIVE” TARIFF ACCESS ON THE WEB

ITC OFFERS “INTERACTIVE” TARIFF ACCESS ON THE WEB

ITC OFFERS “INTERACTIVE” TARIFF ACCESS ON THE WEB

   The U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an “interactive” tariff and trade data warehouse for use by the public and other government agencies on the Internet.
   The ITC tested the program, called DataWeb, for two years. During that time, the agency also completed hardware and software upgrades to the service to ensure that it could handle the public and government users’ requirements efficiently.
   The agency decribed the service, available online at https://dataweb.usitc.gov, as a “self-service, interactive, Internet-based system that provides access to extensive tariff and trade data.”
   “The system is designed to enable even novice users to find their way — unassisted — through numerous options available in working with tariff and trade data,” the ITC said. “The ITC DataWeb responds to user-defined queries rapidly, and it allows both expert and non-expert users to create and save customized country and product lists for future re-use from anywhere in the world.”
   “The ITC DataWeb integrates international trade transactions with complex tariffs and customs treatment. Import and export materials are updated monthly. Data are available for years 1989 through 2001 on a monthly, quarterly, annual, or year-to-date basis and can be retrieved in a number of classifications systems, including the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), or the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS),” the agency added.
   Stephan Koplan, chairman of the ITC, said DataWeb fulfills the agency’s goals under the Government Paperwork Elimination Act and responds to the work of the International Trade Data System board, an interagency group helping Customs to develop an Internet-based front-end to its future system, the Automated Commercial Environment.