In Germany information on goods 1 traded across borders and on the countries traded with is available from the statistic on foreign trade (Außenhandelsstatistik). This statistic is based on two sources. One source is the reports by German firms on transactions with firms from countries that are members of the European Union (EU); these reports are used to compile the so-called Intrahandelsstatistik on intra-EU trade. The other source is transaction-level data collected by the customs on trade with countries outside the EU (the so-called Extrahandelsstatistik).2 The raw data that are used to build the statistic on foreign trade are transaction level data, i.e. they relate to one transaction of a German firm with a firm located outside Germany at a time. Published data from this statistic report exports and imports aggregated at the level of goods traded and by country of origin.