A monthly declaration reporting exports from the US to the Bureau of the Census.

The Bureau of the Census, responsible for collecting US export statistics, introduced the Automated Export Reporting Program (AERP) to the US in 1970. This program permitted exporters and forwarding agents to declare their export transactions each month directly to the Bureau of the Census by using electronic media. Consequently, creating a paper Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) was no longer necessary. The Bureau of the Census combines data received electronically and on paper to produce official US foreign trade statistics.

The advantages of issuing the AERP declaration instead of the paper SED included reduced costs, reduced administration, and faster generation of trade statistics. Until December 31, 1999, you could transfer the AERP declaration to the Bureau of the Census in three ways:

• Direct computer transmission
• Magnetic tape
• Diskette

The system selects data from the intermediate database VESED, creates the information relevant to the declaration, and writes the information in a special file. This file forms the basis for creating a magnetic tape or diskette for the AERP.