Définition
The foreign trade balance is the difference between the value of exports and that of imports between two countries (or two zones). It may relate to a product or to the total of the exchanges of products (goods and services).
The ratio between the two values is called the coverage.
Exports are always valued FOB (free on board), that is to say by taking into account only the costs of transport to the French border.
Imports are valued CIF (freight insurance cost) or FOB (free on board) depending on whether or not they include delivery costs (transport and insurance) to the French border.
The CIF-FOB correction for imports is only available as a whole, and not for each item individually.