Permission for re-dissemination and use of data within applications #
UNSD allows using UN Comtrade data within data extraction and/or visualization/analytical applications, free of charge or with fees. Re-dissemination means reusing UN Comtrade data as-is, without any transformation, in other data platforms (printed or online) and not for internal use.
The following rationale is considered regarding the application of a license to distribute with a fee:
- If data being re-disseminated are substantially different from the data provided in the UN Comtrade, then a license to distribute with a fee shall not apply.
- If data being re-disseminated are substantially the same as data provided in the UN Comtrade, then a license to distribute with a fee shall apply where the amount charged is based on:
- the number of records being re-disseminated or the type of application (data visualization/analytics or data extraction/streaming oriented)
- whether data is re-disseminated for a fee or free of charge; and,
- whether access to this data is limited to a specific audience or open to the public in general.
The license to distribute is not applied, and permission is not required for the following use cases: #
- Publication limited amounts of UN Comtrade data in a few tables, graphs, visualization in printed or digital platform, regardless for profit or not-for-profit purposes
- Free-of-charge data extraction and/or streaming application offering only a small number of records (up to 100,000)
- Free-of-charge data extraction and/or streaming application for large number of records for existing active UN Comtrade subscribers
- Free-of-charge data visualization and/or data analytics application
- Internal use, including the use of UN Comtrade data for the AI model
License to distribute with a fee is applied for the following use cases: #
- For-profit data visualization and/or analytics application
- For-profit data extraction and/or streaming application
- Any other for-profit applications considering amount of data to be distributed
To re-disseminate UN Comtrade data with a fee, a user must be an active premium subscriber.
Exceptionally, case-by-case decisions will be made in special situations where the previously stated guidelines may not easily be applied.
See below for some examples and use cases.
For inquiries or requests for re-dissemination, please contact subscriptions@un.org.
Do I need to pay for re-dissemination of UN Comtrade data? #
See the self-assessment decision tree below.
What constitutes “transformed” or “substantially different” data for re-dissemination under the UN Comtrade license? #
Data that has been meaningfully enhanced, modified, or combined with other information may be considered transformed or substantially different from the original UN Comtrade data. Such data may be re-disseminated without a distribution license fee.
Examples of transformations that may qualify include:
- Creating new indicators, indices, or analytical measures.
- Applying additional data cleaning, validation, or estimation methods.
- Filling missing values using statistical techniques or machine learning models.
- Integrating UN Comtrade data with external datasets or metadata in which the data is no longer prominent.
- Producing geographic, sectoral, or other aggregations.
- Performing calculations that generate new analytical outputs, such as growth rates, market shares, or derived metrics.
Examples that do not constitute substantial transformation include:
- Rounding values.
- Changing the format, structure, or presentation of the data without modifying its content (for example, pivoting, sorting, filtering, or reformatting tables).
- Renaming variables or columns without altering the underlying data.
- Converting file formats (for example, CSV to Excel or JSON).
Important: Whether a dataset is considered substantially transformed depends on the nature and extent of the modifications made. If you are unsure whether your use case qualifies, please contact comtrade@un.org with a description of your intended redistribution.
I want to re-disseminate data for commercial purposes. Do I need a distribution license? #
You may re-disseminate a limited amount of UN Comtrade data for commercial purposes without obtaining an additional distribution license. A “limited amount” is defined as a database containing fewer than 100,000 records in total. This threshold applies to the total number of records stored in your database or product, not to individual queries, API calls, or downloads.
If you intend to re-disseminate 100,000 total records or more, a distribution license is required. Please contact subscriptions@un.org with details of your use case.
An active Premium Subscription is not required to obtain a distribution license or to re-disseminate data. However, maintaining a subscription is strongly recommended, as it provides access to the latest data updates and revisions, helping ensure that the redistributed data remains current and accurate. Subscription support also contributes to the continued improvement of UN Comtrade data quality and timeliness.
Do I need to pay a fee to re-disseminate original UN Comtrade data containing more than 100,000 records? #
The requirements depend on whether the recipients are active UN Comtrade subscribers.
- Re-dissemination to non-subscribers
- If you intend to re-disseminate original UN Comtrade data containing more than 100,000 records to users who are not active UN Comtrade subscribers, you must:
- Hold an active UN Comtrade Premium Subscription; and
- Obtain a License to Distribute.
- The license fee varies depending on factors such as the volume of data being redistributed and the scale of the intended audience. Please contact subscriptions@un.org with details of your use case for pricing and licensing information.
- Re-dissemination to active UN Comtrade subscribers
- If the recipients are active UN Comtrade subscribers, no additional License to Distribute fee is required, regardless of the number of records being re-disseminated.
- However, your application or platform must be able to verify that users have an active UN Comtrade subscription. An API is available to support subscription verification.
Do I need a re-dissemination license for profit and non-profit purposes, and what are the associated costs? #
There is no distinction between profit and non-profit when it comes to re-dissemination. If you charge for access (see the first question above), you will need a license to distribute. The costs are as follows:
- If there is no large data download feature, you must pay the “license to distribute” fee, which amounts to 1 x Premium Pro, in addition to your subscription cost.
- If there is a significant data download feature (more than 100,000 records), you still need the license to distribute (1 x Premium Pro) along with any additional fees if the users are not UN Comtrade subscribers.
Do I need a re-dissemination license for transformed data if used for profit or non-profit purposes? #
There is no distinction between profit and non-profit. You do not need to pay for a “license to distribute” since UN Comtrade does not copyright transformed data.
What are the conditions for third parties to re-disseminate original UN Comtrade data? #
Third parties must adhere to the same conditions as other UN Comtrade users wishing to disseminate data. This is because third parties can obtain the data from UN Comtrade directly and re-disseminate under the terms of use.
Can third parties freely re-disseminate transformed data, visualizations, and analyses based on UN Comtrade data? #
Transformed data from UN Comtrade is no longer subject to copyright restrictions. As a result, you are permitted to establish your own guidelines for the redistribution of your transformed data. The data provided by UN Comtrade serves as input for your own data outputs.
How do I pay the license to distribute fee for re-disseminating UN Comtrade data? #
To express your intention for re-dissemination, please specify the contexts that apply to your case. We will then send you a pro forma invoice. Here is a summary of the re-dissemination fee options:
- No re-dissemination fee. Active subscription is encouraged.
- 1 x Premium Pro as the re-dissemination fee. An active subscription is required.
- 1 x Premium Pro plus an ad-hoc fee (depending on data size and target users) as the re-dissemination fee. An active subscription is required.
Sample Cases #
Case 1: We are a research group at a university, and we will display this data on a public dashboard. We will not disseminate the data (just visualize it). Do we need to obscure the numbers (such as display them as a percentage of the total), or are we okay with displaying the values from Comtrade?
A not-for-profit data visualization system can present actual figures of UN Comtrade. The restriction applies to systems that would disseminate a large amount of UN Comtrade data, such as streaming via API, file downloads, etc.
From my understanding of your policies on use and dissemination, our use would fall under the free-of-charge category. Is that the correct interpretation?
Yes. It is for public use free of charge.
We anticipate having a workflow where, monthly, we will need to download a large amount of data, analyze the values, and update the visualizations. I assume this implies that we will require the premium access tier, which also covers non-aggregated monthly data. It appears that this is not included in the free tier. Can you please verify which level of license or subscription we would require?
Yes, bulk download is for premium, and it would make it easier for you to update the data (or even establish an automatic data pipeline using APIs). Depending on your need, the individual premium may be sufficient (5000 API calls/day) – you can always upgrade your subscription later to an institutional premium.
Case 2: We have been developing an automated market research web service that will be available to a wide audience on both a paid and free-of-charge basis.
According to the Policy on the use and re-dissemination of UN Comtrade data, we may reach a point in the future where we need to pay a fee to Comtrade. While we don’t anticipate this happening soon, the project is still a work in progress. Understanding when to switch to a fee-based subscription would be beneficial.
Please find the categories below where a license to distribute with a fee is required for the following use cases:
1. For-profit data visualization and/or analytics applications
2. For-profit data extraction and/or streaming applications
3. Any other for-profit applications
To access these use cases, an active premium institutional subscription is required. If you already have a subscription and would like to upgrade, please contact our Sales team at subscriptions@un.org.
For use case #1, a dissemination fee of 1 x Premium Institutional Subscription is applicable.
For use cases #2 and #3, please contact our Sales team for further information regarding dissemination fees.
Definitions #
| Data visualization and/or analytics application | These applications normally do not provide download/streaming features. If they do (e.g., to download underlying data), they should only offer a small number of records. |
| Data extraction and/or streaming application | These applications are similar to the UN Comtrade-style data dissemination system, characterized by fully flexible queries and strong data extraction capabilities. These include the availability of bulk files and APIs |
| Institutional unit | “An institutional unit is an economic entity that is capable, in its own right, of owning assets, incurring liabilities, and engaging in economic activities and in transactions with other entities.” “An institutional unit is an economic entity that is capable, in its own right, of owning assets, incurring liabilities, and engaging in economic activities and in transactions with other entities.” – System of National Accounts publication (SNA, 2008) |
