In this problem you will learn how to download data for U.S. exports and imports for highly disaggregated products. Suppose that you are hired by a company that wants to start exporting the product it already sells in the United States. You are asked to find out how much is already sold abroad by other U.S. firms and to which countries. To answer this question, you can access the “Trade Stats Express” database at the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

a. Access the U.S. TradeStats Express website at tse.export.gov/tse/tsehome.aspx. Click on “National Trade Data” and then “Product Profiles of U.S. Merchandise Trade with a Selected Market.” You will be asked to select a “Trade Partner”, which can be a “Geographic region”; and to select a “Product” along with its “flow” (Export, Imports, or Trade Balance) and “item” with a Change button. Click this Change button and you will find several methods of keeping track of items, one of which is called the Harmonized System (HS). Choose any two-digit HS code that you like, from HS 01 to HS 99. For the product you have selected, choose a region of the world and a recent year, and write down in a table the U.S. exports to that region of the two-digit and detailed four-digit products that are shown (see an example for HS 09 in the table). 

b. Repeat the same exercise for the imports to the United States from that region for the HS products that are shown (see table).

c. Now from the Trade Partner menu, choose at least one specific country in the region that you have chosen, and write down the U.S. exports and imports for the same HS products.

d. Do you think that the U.S. exports and imports for the region/country/products you have chosen support the predictions of the Heckscher–Ohlin theorem? Explain why or why not. Do you think that there is potential for the U.S. firm that hired you to begin exporting these products? Explain.

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U.S. Exports and Imports for 2018 HS Code Product 09 0901 0902 0903 0904 0905 0906 0907 0908 0909 0910 Coffee, Tea, Mate, and Spices Coffee, Coffee Husks, etc. Tea, Whether or Not Africa Region or Country Africa Flavored Mate Africa Pepper, Genus Piper, Africa etc. Nutmeg, Mace, and Cardamoms Vanilla Beans Cinnamon and Tree Flowers Cloves (Whole Fruit, Africa etc.) Seeds: Anise, Badian. Fennel, Africa Coriander, etc.; Juniper Berries Ginger, Saffron, Turmeric, Thyme, Bay Leaves, etc. Africa Africa Africa Africa Africa Export ($ thousands) 6,206 778 867 6 562 1,754 45 85 53 2,054 Import ($ thousands) 875,990 284,422 33,894 0 4,130 531,170 41 2,636 40 10,952 8,702