Using This Report

The Market Diversification Tool is meant to be a starting point for research into potential export markets. We strongly encourage all users to do additional analysis and thoroughly research any potential markets. Here are some steps you may want to take:

EXPLORE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION

Find Market Intelligence for Your Industry

Our trade professionals in more than 70 international offices help keep you informed about opportunities in key markets through our Market Intelligence program.

Review Country Commercial Guides for Your Potential Markets

ITA's Country Commercial Guides have information on market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business customs for over 125 countries and are prepared by trade and industry experts at U.S. embassies worldwide.

Contact Your Local U.S Commercial Service Office

U.S. Commercial Service offices, called U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs), are located in more than 100 U.S. cities and provide counseling and a variety of products and services to assist small and midsized U.S. businesses export their products and services. USEAC staff can help you develop an export strategy, evaluate export markets, and find potential partners overseas. If you've entered your zip code, the Market Diversification Tool has provided the contact information for your local Commercial Service office above.

Explore our Industry Resources

ITA has global industry teams covering the extraction, manufacturing, service, and knowledge-based industries that drive the economy.

Rural America’s Intelligence Service for Exporters (RAISE)

Companies from anywhere in rural America can sign up for research assistance through our Rural Export Center. This completely virtual service will help them find the best international markets and identify specific buyers in those markets who may be prospective business partners. Once a research project is completed, the company works closely with their local U.S. Commercial Service Trade Specialist to implement the plans, strategies and activities that emerge from the research.

BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULTS

The ranking of markets in the results will depend on a variety of factors, including the weights applied to the various indicators. The results report includes many indicators, and better understanding them can add nuance and context to the results and help you decide whether they seem valid. Review Instructions for interpreting your results.

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TRADE DATA

The trade data provided in the tool is an average (usually over five years, but no less than three years), rather than annual data. It shows how much the market imported from the United States and from the world and what the U.S. share was. However, it does not provide information on other exporters to that market beyond the United States. In other words, it doesn't show who you would be competing against in that market.

Additional trade data can be easily obtained from a number of sources, including through the UN Comtrade Database.

You can also use these additional trade data resources.

GET A BETTER IDEA OF THE TARIFFS YOU MIGHT FACE

The Market Diversification Tool provides only the estimated average tariff for the six-digit HS subheading where your product is classified, not the actual national line tariff you would face in the market. If you have selected more than one product, it provides the maximum of the average tariffs for the selected products. Most countries have more than one tariff line per six-digit subheading, so knowing the precise tariff you will face is important.

To get information on the more detailed national line tariffs, we recommend using the CustomsInfo database (requires free account). The International Trade Administration provides exporters who use Export.gov with free access to the CUSTOMS Info database, which provides detailed tariff information for many markets along with information on other taxes like VAT taxes. Additional instructions on using the CustomsInfo database.

If you are considering exporting to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner, you may also want to utilize the the FTA Tariff Tool. This free search tool provides tariff information on all products covered under U.S. FTAs along with product-specific rules of origin to help you determine your products’ eligibility for preferential rates.

DATA SOURCES

Trade data in the tool comes from the United Nations Comtrade Database, United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database, Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Statistics.

For countries with which the United States has a Free Trade Agreement, tariff data was compiled from the final negotiated schedules for each agreement.

For countries with which the United States does not have a Free Trade Agreement, tariff schedules provided to the World Trade Organization by individual members were used. World Trade Organization, Tariff Analysis Online facility provides access to the WTO's Integrated Database (IDB) and Consolidated Tariff Schedules (CTS).

This data has been modified from its original format. In the case of tariff schedules provided to the WTO in the current nomenclature, simple averages at the six-digit subheading have been calculated. In the case of tariff schedules provided to the WTO in older nomenclatures, the tariff data was averaged first and then converted into the most recent nomenclature. Where markets used specific or compound tariffs, rather than ad valorem tariffs, every effort was made to accurately calculate ad valorem equivalents for the specific or compound tariffs so that they could be averaged with other tariff lines.

Tariff data is only provided as an average tariff across an entire six-digit subheading, not at the national line level. It is recommended that all users identify the national line tariffs they will face in the markets they are interested in.

Language data comes from The World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency.

Distance data comes from GeoDist Database, Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales. Bilateral US file, "dist" indicator.

The Rule of Law indicator is from the Worldwide Governance Indicators, The World Bank, Rule of Law: Estimate.

Cost to Import and Enforcing Contracts data come from Doing Business from The World Bank.

Logistics Performance Index, The World Bank, International LPI Global Ranking and LPI Score.

Gross domestic product comes from the World Development Indicators, The World Bank, GDP (current US$) (NY.GDP.MKTP.CD).