You loved the SIC codes, you loved the NAICS.... maybe its time to be introduced to ...

Schedule B Commodity Codes

As librarians you will appreciate Schedule B codes, which are a universal hierarchical product-specific classification system devoted to export products, the Dewey Decimal system, as it were, for stuff.
Schedule B codes are administered by the US Census Bureau, and are composed of six to ten numerical digits, similar and related to the Harmonized System (H.S.) of tariff classifications, used for imports.
The H.S., administered by the US International Trade Commission, provides a common language for customs authorities around the world to identify products and assess appropriate duties and taxes. Trade statistics are also gathered via H.S. tariff classification.

The Bureaucratic Tour:
The US Department of Commerce has vast bureaucracies devoted to all aspects of export commerce. http://export.gov/ is their main portal. Narrowing in a bit is the Trade Information Center (TIC) of the International Trade Administration: http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/tic/ Follow the link for “HS/Schedule B” to their “Tariff and Tax Information” page http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/tariff/hs_numbers.htm
In less time than it takes on the D.C. Metro, grab the link to the Census Bureau’s Schedule B Search Engine and you’re there!

But wait, just to get a better sense of the Internet presence of our government at work, try a different route. Because Schedule B export codes are derived from and administered by the US Census Bureau , you can take their way, too. From their main site, jump to Foreign Trade Statistics, and catch the B-train, the Schedule B Search Engine link.

You have finally reached the US Census Bureau Schedule B Code search engine site, where your entire world has been classified in the Schedule B export code book.
In both the Browse function and the Search function, the language used is peculiarly Victorian in flavor (“ Pork bellies, streaky, and cuts thereof”) and so it is very entertaining to explore these functions.
Try searching with the product term “wigs” for some interesting typographical errors.
Each chapter in the browse mode starts with lengthy lists of what that chapter is not about, viz. Chapter 84 “Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery Etc.” is not about millstones or grindstones. Note the FAQ section.


In the grand old style of government duplicity, TIC also has their own Frequently Asked Export Questions Note the “What Are Schedule B Codes?” link there.


RELATED GOVERNMENT SITES

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Virtually the same classification system as Schedule B codes, but for import related purposes. Same strange and wonderful language: note Chapter 15 “Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products”

Transexport Schedule B Codes
A portal to more commercial and industrial code acronyms than you ever dreamed of.

COMMERCIAL EXPORT ASSISTANCE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
As one might expect, there are many companies devoted to import/export functions. Here are a few examples, just to get a sense of this large industry.

shipsolutions.com
A modest but useful page of international import/export trade web links. Worth noting here are the CIA World Factbook, and yet another governmental presence: ITDS (International Trade Data System) is a project for the development of a system to collect all information for the US Federal processing of trade that crosses our borders.
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INTERNET GUIDE TO
EXPORT TRADE LEADS
A good place to leave you: this very comprehensive portal from TIC (see their link at top) with numerous .com,.org and .gov listings, with subject specific and country specific export related links.