The first stage had been conducted between May and July 2008 and focused on a number of issues most relevant for establishing the scope and structure of the future recommendations . Based on the results of the consultation , the United Nations Statistics Division in cooperation with members of the Expert Group on International Merchandise Trade Statistics ( EG-IMTS ) and the Inter-agency Task Force on International Merchandise Trade Statistics ( TF-IMTS ) prepared the provisional draft of the revised recommendations . The draft was submitted to countries for review during the second stage of the consultation process , conducted in August and September 2009 , to ensure that countries ' views were taken fully into account before its finalization .