Assessing and comparing countries' export reports is complicated, as their formats differ widely: from a few pages of statistics to several hundred pages of text and tables. The basic question around which the Small Arms Trade Transparency Barometer is constructed is: how useful is the export report for understanding a country's small arms exports? The Barometer is divided into two main categories: (a) timeliness, access, clarity, and comprehensiveness; and (b) information on granted and refused licences and on deliveries. The first category assesses how easy it is to obtain and understand the data provided by a state and how comprehensive the data are in general terms. The underlying assumption is that data which are provided in an untimely manner (because the data are published more than one year after the end of the year the data cover), difficult to access (because the data are not available in any major language, not found on the Internet, and/or are not free of charge), difficult to decipher (because there is no methodology, no information on end-users, and it is impossible to distinguish small arms and small arms ammunition from other types of weapons and ammunition), or incomplete (because the data do not cover all types of transactions or all kinds of small arms and parts) is of limited use in understanding a country's small arms trade.
The second cluster of criteria relates to the detail of the data provided in a report on granted licences, denied licences, and actual deliveries. The analysis of granted and denied licences and deliveries is subdivided in the same way: values and volumes disaggregated by weapon type and by both country and weapon type. The data is disaggregated by weapon type if the share of arms exports of different categories of weapons is detailed. The data are disaggregated both by country and by weapon if it is possible to read out the quantity/value of weapons of each category transferred to individual recipients. For deliveries and licences granted, one point is given to an export report for each criterion fulfilled; for licences refused, half a point is given for each criterion. A criterion that is only partly fulfilled is given half a point. For example, under the Wassenaar Arrangement's classification system, the first category of weapons consists purely of small arms, while the second category contains both small arms and light weapons and larger weapons systems. Hence, it is only partially possible to distinguish small arms and light weapons from other types of weapons, and only half a point is attributed on that particular criterion.
It is important to stress that the Barometer evaluates the reporting, and cannot independently verify the veracity, of the information given. In other words, the Barometer assesses the quantity, precision, and usefulness of the data made public, but not the truthfulness of the data.
The number of countries releasing some form of public data on their arms exports continues to increase. Countries that produce arms export reports generally provide the most comprehensive information, but some countries that do not (yet) publish such reports provide valuable information on small arms transactions through the international release of customs data. Although international customs data is not necessarily thought of as a transparency device, it provides important insights into trade and is therefore included in the analysis on transparency in this section.
Customs data fill some of the gaps in many export reports, such as very general statistics that make no mention of small arms and that are not standardized. These data have shortcomings of their own. First, customs codes were obviously not designed with a definition of small arms and light weapons in mind, and some codes include both small and other (larger) arms (for example, the code 9301 includes both military small arms and items such as torpedo tubes and large mortars). Other small arms and light weapons, such as MANPADS, are not included in any category. However, most categories of firearms and ammunition are comparatively well covered by the customs codes (Marsh, 2003). Second, not all state-to-state transfers go through customs, which of course affects total numbers. Third, exporters and customs officials do not always interpret customs codes in the same way. For example, for the customs code 'pistols and revolvers', Brazil has consistently reported 'nil', although import data from other countries suggests that it exports large quantities. The handguns must therefore be (mis-)classified under some other heading (Lessing, 2003). Notwithstanding such problems, customs data is probably the most important tool for arriving at a general picture of the small arms trade. This is why, in a departure from previous Small Arms Survey practice, this form of transparency, and not only export reports, is included in the Small Arms Trade Transparency Barometer.
The Barometer is thus based on (a) export reports and (b) international customs data. It is important to note that, because of its focus on small arms exports, the Barometer cannot be used as a general measure of arms export transparency. It includes only those countries that are significant exporters of small arms and light weapons and so excludes some transparent countries. This also necessarily means that the focus is mainly (although not only) on Western and Eastern European as well as North American states, given that it is mostly among their ranks that significant exporters are found. As is shown in the Barometer, the most transparent among the main exporting countries are those states that both publish export reports and report their customs data internationally. Top of the list in the 2007 Barometer are the United States and France . The average score (out of 25) is 10.5. This rather low average means that states generally, and even those countries ranking at the top of the Barometer, still have some way to go before their reporting is fully transparent.
For a complete explanation of the methodology employed as well as references, please see pp. 115-16 in the Small Arms Survey 2004, pp. 110-13 in the Small Arms Survey 2005, p. 80 in the Small Arms Survey 2006, and pp. 87-90 in the Small Arms Survey 2007.
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