At the time of signing the Convention bearing the date of this day, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries declare to accept, as regards the various provisions of the Convention, the interpretation specified in the first part of the Convention. Protocol, and also accept reservations made under Art. 17 of the said Convention and contained in the second part of this Protocol.

I

It is understood that:

1.

That no stipulation of this Convention shall be construed as limiting or affecting the competence of the International Agricultural Institute ³ ;

2.

That no provision of this Agreement imposes an obligation to establish and publish figures that would result in the disclosure of information relating to any particular establishment;

3.

That each of the High Contracting Parties may, in the event of force majeure or serious events threatening the security of the State, exceptionally suspend, for as short a period as possible and to the extent that the circumstances require, The application of the provisions of this Convention;

4.

That the provisions of s. 2-Ia does not require the indication of quantities for special categories of goods where this indication is of no practical use in statistical terms;

5.

That, in the monthly statements required by s. 2 Ia:

A.

The listing of the articles and the corresponding information may be presented in an abbreviated form;

B.

The information provided for cases where a country's foreign trade is relatively small may be a simple summary;

6.

That the proposals of the International Institute of Agriculture ⁴ Mentioned in para. A of art. 2-III, are those adopted by the Ninth General Assembly of the Institute and reproduced, as a documentary, in Annex VI ⁵ , and that, in the event that the General Assembly of the International Institute of Agriculture ⁶ Amend these proposals, the high contracting parties will have the right to adopt those amendments;

7.

That the provisions of s. B and C of s. 2-V should not be considered to exclude the use of evaluations in the case of small businesses;

8.

That the provisions of s. B and C of s. 2-V oblige the high contracting parties to do everything that depends on them to provide representative data, but that, nevertheless, in a country where the industry is underdeveloped, it may be impossible to provide statistics Detailed;

9.

That, in countries where, due to local conditions such as the extent of the territory, the scattered nature of the industries and the distance that separates them from their markets, the monthly preparation of wholesale price indices is not nearly The quarterly publication of these indices will be considered as meeting the requirements of Art. 2-VI.

II

The following reservations are accepted:

1. Art. 2-III B

Turkey ⁷

The statements provided for in this paragraph shall be drawn up and published by Turkey at intervals as close as possible without any obligation for such statements to be annual.

South African Union

The surveys will not contain information on the area cultivated on indigenous farms, and on indigenous reserves, the areas of the Negroes and the mission centres.

2. Art. 2-III E

Brazil ⁸

These provisions do not apply in Brazil.

3. Art. 2-IV, para. 2, a

Japan

The choice of minerals will be left to the discretion of the Japanese government.

4. Art. 2-V B, C

Free City of Danzig, Greece, Portugal, Turkey ⁹

The statements provided for in these paragraphs will not be required.

5. Article 2-VI

Portugal

The monthly publication of index numbers in the near future will not be mandatory.

6. Art. 3-al. 2

Mexico ¹⁰ , Turkey ¹¹

This paragraph will be considered, not an obligation, but as a recommendation.

In witness whereof, The undersigned have signed at the bottom of this Protocol.

Done at Geneva, on 14 December mil nine hundred and twenty-eight, in a single shipment, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Secretariat of the League of Nations; a true copy shall be transmitted to all members of the League of Nations and to all Non-member States represented at the Conference.

(Suivent signatures)

---

The Governments of the South African Union, Germany, the United States of America, Austria, the Commonwealth of Australia, Belgium, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of Brazil, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and the United States of America Canada, Cuba, Denmark, the Free City of Danzig, Egypt, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Siam, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Sweden, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela

Driven by the desire to ensure the development and publication of various categories of statistics in all countries of the world, as well as the general adoption of uniform methods for the compilation of economic statistical surveys,

Having received the invitation sent to them by the Council of the League of Nations to participate in a conference with a view to studying a draft convention on the subject,

Have, for that purpose, designated the following delegations:

(Following are the names of the delegates, secretaries and experts from the aforementioned countries)

The International Agricultural Institute and the International Chamber of Commerce, invited to participate in the Conference in an advisory capacity, have designated the following delegations to this effect:

(Following are the names of the delegates of both institutions)

The Economic Committee of the League of Nations, the Sub-Committee of Experts for the Unification of the Customs Nomenclature and the Advisory and Technical Committee on Communications and Transit, invited to nominate one of their members for the purpose of To participate in an advisory capacity at the conference, have been represented by those of their members whose names follow:

(Following are the names of these delegates)

Who, therefore, met in Geneva.

The Council of the League of Nations has called for the functions of the President of the Conference Mr William E. Rappard, Professor at the University of Geneva, Director of the Institute for Advanced International Studies, Member of the Standing Committee on Mandates Of the League of Nations.

The work of the secretariat was entrusted to the following members of the Economic and Financial Section of the secretariat of the League of Nations: A. Loveday, Conference Secretary General, Dr. V. J. Stencek, A. Rosenborg, J. H. Chapman, and Dr. A. Von Suchan.

Following the meetings held from 26 November to 14 December 1928, the following acts were adopted:

I.-Convention, dated 14 December 1928, concerning economic statistics.

II. -Protocol of the Convention.

The Conference also adopted the following resolutions:

1.

The Conference expresses the wish that the Committee of Experts set out in Art. 8 is composed of members chosen because of their technical competence and not as representatives of the States of which they are nationals.

2.

The conference declares that the insertion in art. 2-lbs of the convention of certain provisions relating to maritime navigation should not be regarded as detrimental to the conclusion, in the future, of an international agreement on transport statistics.

3.

The conference took note of the statements made, on which work was undertaken towards the unification of transport statistics, and recognizing the importance of the publication of such statistics on a unified basis Ensuring the fullest possible comparability, expresses the wish that the preparatory work can be carried out in the shortest possible time, in order to enable, in the near future, the conclusion of an international agreement On this subject.

4.

The conference, given the usefulness of personal contacts between the official statisticians of the various countries and the difficulties encountered in sending to international conferences held in remote countries the officials responsible for preparing the National statistics, expresses the wish that the League of Nations takes the initiative of signalling to international statistical organisations the desirability of grouping in as short a period as possible and in cities as close as Possible international conferences planned for the same year.

As well as the following recommendations:

The conference recommends:

I.-That, because of the high appreciation that it wishes to express from the work accomplished in the preparation of this conference by the International Statistical Institute and the International Chamber of Commerce, it is always considered, Subsequently, scientific work and technical advice from relevant international bodies.

II. -Since this Convention represents only a minimum:

1.

That countries, depending on the level of complexity of their economic organization, wish to develop and publish more detailed statistics than those required by this Convention;

2.

That countries gradually expand the scope of their statistical work and wish, for this purpose, to take into account the opinions of the Committee of Experts, and

3.

Countries that have highly developed statistical organizations shall endeavour, if they so wish, to the assistance of the Committee of Experts, to conclude informal or official agreements with a view to ensuring the comparability of certain Statistics published by them, which are not covered by any provision of this Convention.

III. -That, in order to give effect to the last paragraph of the previous recommendation:

1.

The Secretary-General of the League of Nations should be asked to inform the countries that would be willing to follow up on them;

2.

Countries that have accepted this proposal are invited to:

A.

Prepare a document setting out the categories of economic statistics on which they are willing to discuss the adoption of uniform methods;

B.

To transmit this document either directly or through the care of the Secretary General of the League of Nations, if possible before 30 September 1929, to the other countries which have also accepted this proposal;

C.

To send, if possible before the, June 1930, their observations on the documents thus received, to the countries which have addressed them, and

D.

Send copies of all such documents to the Secretary General of the League of Nations;

3.

These documents are discussed by the Committee of Experts, with a view to reaching an agreement or agreements with more extensive obligations.

IV. -That, in order to increase the economic value of the statistics provided for in Art. 2 (II) of the Convention, the Committee of Experts, taking into account the work of the International Conferences of Labour Statisticians, convened by the International Labour Office, and the International Statistical Institute:

1.

Prepares a draft detailed nomenclature of branches of economic activity and occupations;

2.

The question of the classification systems of the labour force according to industry or the individual profession, as well as the distribution of persons active on the basis of their situation (employers, employees, etc.);

3.

Presents on these subjects a report that the Secretary General of the League of Nations will be requested to communicate to the governments of the high contracting parties.

V.-That, in all countries where the basic economic statistics are sufficiently developed to allow this procedure, attention is given to the possibility of:

1.

To develop official statistics so as to facilitate the establishment of national income estimates at regular intervals;

2.

To publish, at regular intervals, sets of statistical data, such as to indicate the fluctuations in economic activity, in the broadest sense of that expression;

3.

To gather and publish visible stock surveys for the major raw materials of the industry;

4.

To gather and publish statistics on the electrical energy produced in the central public distribution stations, distinguishing between the production of hydroelectric facilities and the production of thermal installations.

VI. -That, taking into account the wishes of the international energy conferences, held in London (1924) and in Basel (1926), as well as by the International Economic Conference in Geneva (1927), concerning the compilation of statistics on the In accordance with the principles which may be developed by the Committee of Experts, the statistical work relating to the driving forces shall be broadened and clarified in accordance with the principles which may be developed by the Committee of Experts.

VII. -That a census of industrial production be carried out in all countries whose industry is sufficiently developed, and that the census takes place at least once every ten years or, preferably once every five years, and that Censuses take place in the various countries in years as close as possible to each other.

VIII. -That, to the extent possible, each country shall publish, in absolute or relative terms, the prices of all goods, or at least the prices of the most important goods, used in the calculation of wholesale prices and the cost of living That are provided for in s. 2 (VI) of the Convention, as well as price indices for major commodity groups.

IX. -That, in order to ensure comparability of the index numbers referred to in s. 2 (VI) of the Convention, all countries adopt as a basis the same year or the same period, and that the Committee of Experts considers this matter taking into account the work of the international conferences of labour statisticians, convened by the International Bureau of Labour, and those of the International Statistical Institute, and that the Committee shall prepare a report on this subject which shall be communicated to the Governments of all the High Contracting Parties.

X. - That the various amendments that have been proposed during the Conference on par. B and C of s. 2 (V), s. 2 (VI) and Annexes IV and V ¹² , which are reproduced in the minutes of the conference, are referred to the Committee of Experts.

XI. -That, in order to facilitate the establishment of accurate records of imports and exports by country, from the list given in Part II of Annex I ¹³ Of the Convention, the Secretary-General of the League of Nations shall be requested to prepare, before the entry into force of this Convention, and to have periodically updated a directory of places of loading and unloading, open International traffic, which shall indicate in each case the corresponding entry in the list set out in Part II of Annex I.

XII. -Given that the League of Nations is currently developing a common nomenclature for customs tariffs and that, in the vast majority of countries, the statistical classification of trade is based on the nomenclature adopted in the Respective tariffs:

1.

That the Committee of Experts, when the work on this customs nomenclature is sufficiently advanced, prepare a draft minimum statistical nomenclature for submission to the Governments of the High Contracting Parties,

2.

In the meantime, no changes to the current statistical nomenclature are made other than those that may be required by the immediate needs of the various countries,

3.

That a uniform statistical classification be adopted, for external trade surveys, even by countries which are not in a position to adopt the new customs nomenclature,

4.

That, until such time as these amendments have been introduced, the States which have ratified the Brussels International Convention of 1913 shall continue to provide the summaries approved by the International Trade Statistics Office in Brussels. The Convention.

XIII. -That due to the advantages and importance of the adoption, in all countries, of precise definitions of the terms "gross weight," net weight "," net legal weight " and a uniform practice in the use of these terms, the Council of the Company The United Nations should consider the possibility of studying these issues by the economic organization of the League of Nations.

XIV. -That, for goods shipped on bill of lading with the option of unloading option or "in order" and indicated as "in order", statistics shall be drawn up at a later date indicating the countries of effective unloading, When they are known, and questions relating to the determination of the best methods for determining the true destination of these exports should be referred to the Committee of Experts.

XV. -That, in addition to the statistical tables provided for trial, the second paragraph of Art. 3, the High Contracting Parties shall carry out any other studies which, in their opinion, may contribute to the clarification of the question.

XVI. -That the governments of the countries on whose behalf the convention has been signed, make known to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations their situation with regard to the ratification of the Convention, in the event that the instrument of ratification Would not have been filed within two years from the date of signature.

In witness whereof, The undersigned have signed at the bottom of this Act.

Done at Geneva, on 14 December mil nine hundred and twenty-eight, in simple dispatch, which will be deposited in the archives of the secretariat of the League of Nations ¹⁴ This will be transmitted to all members of the League of Nations and to all non-member States represented at the Conference.

(Following are the signatures of the President and the Secretary-General of the Conference)

---

States Parties	Ratification Accession (A) Declaration of succession (S)		Entry into force
South Africa	10 December	1948	9 October	1950
Australia	9 December	1948	9 October	1950
Austria	10 November	1949	9 October	1950
Belgium	2 May	1952	July 31	1952
Canada	9 December	1948	9 October	1950
Denmark	27 September	1949	9 October	1950
Egypt	9 December	1948	9 October	1950
Finland	August 17	1949	9 October	1950
France	11 January	1949	9 October	1950
Ghana	7 April	1958 S	6 March	1957
Greece	9 October	1950	9 October	1950
India	March 14	1949	9 October	1950
Ireland	28 February	1952	28 February	1952
Israel	28 December	1950	28 March	1951
Italy	20 May	1949	9 October	1950
Japan	2 December	1952	2 December	1952
Liberia	16 September	2005 A	15 December	2005
Luxembourg	July 23	1953	21 October	1953
Nigeria	July 23	1965	21 October	1965
Norway	22 March	1949	9 October	1950
Pakistan	3 March	1952	3 March	1952
Netherlands	13 April	1950	9 October	1950
United Kingdom	9 December	1948	9 October	1950
Sweden	9 December	1948	9 October	1950
Switzerland	23 January	1970	23 January	1970
Zimbabwe	1 Er December	1998 S	18 April	1980

---

---