The external trade statistics released at the website of Statistics Database Query (https://portal.sw.nat.gov.tw/APGA/GA35) is an aggregate dataset of commodities and countries (areas). Though the name of exporters/importers are not revealed, such aggregated data may disclose some information about individual traders indirectly if a cell contains too few statistical units. Therefore, Customs Administration has adopted a measure of statistical confidentiality starting on Feb. 26, 2020 and has applied it to 19 commodities thus far.
Customs Administration illustrates, to balance the high demand for detailed trade statistics against the need to protect privacy, Customs Administration adopts “Passive Confidentiality” recommended by the United Nations. The trade data is made confidential only at the request of duty payers or exporters of goods to suppress the data, who worry the dissemination of trade statistics potentially exposes their individual information, and is granted based on confidentiality rules. This is a common measure in many major countries and international organizations, such as the U.K., Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and the EU.
Customs Administration states the measure of statistical confidentiality has been applied to the trade data of 19 commodities and 13 countries. Users of the website of Statistics Database Query are suggested to utilize data cautiously if the search result shows as follows: “Product codes for suppression” (the code with letters of the alphabet) and “confidential country codes” are for suppression only.
The suppression is illustrated in actual cases, in which the import data from Japan, Israel, United States, Singapore, and Germany under commodity code 9031.41.10.10-2, 9031.41.90.00-7, and 9031.80.00.20-4 is restricted. Data for these countries are combined under “Confidential Country Code”, so users can not find out the individual value of 3 commodities at the website of Statistics Database Query. But extra reference information about restricted data is provided by “Product Code for Suppression” (9031.ZZ.ZZ.ZZ-Z), meaning the value of Japan of “Product Code for Suppression” equals the value of same country of 3 commodity codes total value, so does the value of other 4 countries.
The list of applied suppression and relative information are available at the website of Statistics Database>News>About Statistical Confidentiality. For any further questions, please contact: sta@customs.gov.tw.

Phone: (02)2550-5500 ext.2814