[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 165 (Friday, August 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-20975]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 26, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economics Analysis

15 CFR Part 806

[Docket No. 940828-4228]
RIN 0691-AA22

 

Direct Investment Surveys: BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct 
Investment Abroad--1994

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: Section 4(b) of the International Investment and Trade in 
Services Survey Act requires that a benchmark survey of U.S. direct 
investment abroad be conducted covering 1982, 1989, and every fifth 
year thereafter. These proposed rules set forth reporting requirements 
for the survey covering 1994 and replace the rules for the last 
benchmark survey covering 1989. The major change in the reporting 
requirements to be implemented in these proposed rules is the raising 
of the exemption level for determining whether a long form or a short 
form must be filed for nonbank foreign affiliates of nonbank U.S. 
parent companies.

DATES: Comments on these proposed rules will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before October 11, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of the Chief, 
International Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, or hand delivered to 
Shipping and Receiving, Section M-100, 1441 L Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20005. Comments will be available for public inspection in Room 
7006, 1441 L Street, NW., between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Betty L. Barker, Chief, International Investment Division (BE-50), 
Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, 
DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These proposed rules set forth the reporting 
requirements for the BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment 
Abroad--1994. This survey is to be conducted by the Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International 
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 90 Stat. 
2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended) hereinafter, ``the Act.'' 
Section 4(b) of the Act, as amended, requires that with respect to 
United States direct investment abroad, the President shall conduct a 
benchmark survey covering year 1982, a benchmark survey covering year 
1989, and benchmark surveys covering every fifth year thereafter. In 
conducting surveys pursuant to this subsection, the President shall, 
among other things and to the extent he determines necessary and 
feasible--
    (1) identify the location, nature, and magnitude of, and changes in 
total investment by an parent in each of its affiliates and the 
financial transactions between any parent and each of its affiliates;
    (2) obtain (A) information on the balance sheet of parents and 
affiliates and related financial data, (B) income statements, including 
the gross sales by primary line of business (with as much product line 
detail as is necessary and feasible) of parents and affiliates in each 
country in which they have significant operations; and (C) related 
information regarding trade, including trade in both goods and 
services, between a parent and each of its affiliates and between each 
parent or affiliate and any other person;
    (3) collect employment data showing both the number of United 
States and foreign employees of each parent and affiliate and the 
levels of compensation, by country, industry, and skill level;
    (4) obtain information on tax payments by parents and affiliates by 
country; and
    (5) determine, by industry and country, the total dollar amount of 
research and development expenditures by each parent and affiliate, 
payments or other compensation for the transfer of technology between 
parents and their affiliates, and payments or other compensation 
received by parents or affiliates from the transfer of technology to 
other persons.
    The responsibility for conducting benchmark surveys of U.S. direct 
investment abroad has been delegated by the President to the Secretary 
of Commerce, who has redelegated by the President to the Secretary of 
Commerce, who has redelegated it to the Bureau of Economic Analysis 
(BEA).
    The benchmark surveys are BEA's censuses, intended to cover the 
universe of U.S. direct investment abroad in value terms. U.S. direct 
investment abroad is defined as the ownership or control, directly or 
indirectly, by one U.S. person of 10 percent or more of the voting 
securities of an incorporated foreign business enterprise or an 
equivalent interest in an unincorporated foreign business enterprise, 
including a branch.
    The purpose of he benchmark survey is to obtain comprehensive data 
on the overall operations of U.S. parent companies and their foreign 
affiliates, and on positions and transactions between them. The survey 
is mandated by Congress to provide a factual framework for addressing 
the concerns of policymakers and the general public about the effects 
of direct investment abroad on the U.S. and foreign economies. The data 
from the survey are needed to record the size of U.S. direct investment 
abroad, measure changes in such investment, and assess its impact. The 
data will provide benchmarks for deriving current universe estimates of 
direct investment from sample data collected in other BEA surveys in 
nonbenchmark years. In particular, they will serve as benchmarks for 
the quarterly direct investment estimates included in the U.S. 
international transactions and the national income and product 
accounts, and for annual estimates of the U.S. direct investment 
position abroad and of the operations of U.S. parent companies and 
their foreign affiliates.
    The benchmark surveys are the most comprehensive of BEA's surveys 
in terms of subject matter in order that they obtain the detailed 
information on U.S. direct investment abroad needed for policy 
purposes. As specified in the Act, policy areas of particular interest 
include, among other things, trade in both goods and services, 
employment and employment compensation, taxes, and technology.
    As proposed, the survey will consist of an instruction booklet, a 
claim for not filing the BE-10, and the following report forms:
    1. Form BE-10A for reporting by a U.S. Reporter that is not a bank;
    2. Form BE-10A BANK for reporting by a U.S. Reporter that is a 
bank;
    3. Form BE-10B(LF) (Long Form) for reporting nonbank foreign 
affiliates of nonbank U.S. parents with assets, sales, or net income 
greater than $50 million (positive or negative);
    4. Form BE-10B(SF) (Short Form) for reporting nonbank foreign 
affiliates of nonbank U.S. parents with assets, sales, or net income 
greater than $3 million, but not greater than $50 million (positive or 
negative); and
    5. Form BE-10B BANK for reporting foreign affiliates that are banks 
with assets, sales, or net income greater than $3 million (positive or 
negative).
    Although the proposed survey is intended to cover the universe of 
U.S. direct investment abroad, in order to minimize the reporting 
burden, foreign affiliates with assets, sales, and net income each to 
or less than $3 million (Positive or negative) are exempt from being 
reported on Form BE-10B(SF) or BE-10B BANK (but must be listed on Form 
BE-10A SUPPLEMENT or BE-10A BANK SUPPLEMENT).
    In designing the survey, BEA made substantial efforts to consult 
with data users outside the Bureau and survey respondents to obtain 
their views on the proposed benchmark survey, including the 
availability and need for the data, the data items to be reported, and 
the clarity of instructions.The proposed draft incorporates comments 
received from users and respondents. In reaching decisions on what 
questions to include in the survey, BEA considered the Government's 
need for the data, the burden imposed on respondents, the quality of 
the likely responses (e.g., whether the data are readily available on 
respondents' books), and BEA's experience in previous benchmark 
surveys.
    The major change from the last (1989) survey to the 1994 survey 
that is reflected in these proposed rules is the raising, from $15 
million to $50 million, of the exemption level for reporting foreign 
affiliates on the more complex long form. In the 1994 survey, nonbank 
foreign affiliates for which assets, sales, or net income is greater 
than $50 million (positive or negative) will be required to be reported 
on Form BE-10B(LF) (Long Form); nonbank foreign affiliates for which 
assets, sales, or net income is greater than $3 million (positive or 
negative), but for which no one of these items is greater than $50 
million (positive or negative), will be required to be reported on Form 
BE-10B(SF) (Short Form). In the 1989 benchmark survey, the long-form 
exemption level was $15 million. This proposed change means that 
approximately 6,000 foreign affiliates that previously would have been 
reported on the long form will now be reported instead on the short 
form, thus reducing both reporting and editing burden from what it 
would otherwise have been.
    Other proposed changes in the survey from 1989 to 1994 include 
revision of the instructions--primarily for purposes of clarification--
and modification, addition, deletion, or combination of some items on 
the forms. These changes do not require changes to the rules.
    A copy of the proposed survey forms may be obtained from: Office of 
the Chief, Direct Investment Abroad Branch, International Investment 
Division (BE-69(A)), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-5566.

Executive Order 12612

    These proposed rules do not contain policies with Federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
assessment under E.O. 12612.

Executive Order 12866

    These proposed rules have been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    These proposed rules contain a collection of information 
requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. A request for 
review of the forms has been submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget under section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    The public reporting burden for this collection of information is 
estimated to vary from 14 to 8,500 hours per response, with an average 
of 159.4 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, 
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data 
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 
Comments from the public regarding the burden estimate or any other 
aspect of this collection of information should be addressed to: 
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of 
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; and to the Office of Management and 
Budget, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the 
Department of Commerce.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The General Counsel, Department of Commerce, has certified to the 
Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business Administration, under the 
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that 
the proposed rules will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The exemption level is set in 
terms of the size of a U.S. company's foreign affiliates. If an 
affiliate is owned 10 percent or more by the U.S. company and has 
assets, sales, or net income greater than $3 million (positive or 
negative), it must be reported. Usually, the U.S. parent company (the 
one required to file the report) is many times larger. Also, to 
minimize the reporting burden on smaller U.S. businesses, nonbank 
foreign affiliates with assets, sales, and net income all below $50 
million will be reported on the abbreviated BE-10B(SF), or short form, 
rather than the BE-10B(LF), or long form.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 806

    Balance of payments, Economic statistics, U.S. investment abroad, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: August 5, 1994.
Carol S. Carson,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 
CFR Part 806 as follows:

PART 806--DIRECT INVESTMENT SURVEYS

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR Part 806 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; and E.O. 11961 (3 
CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86), as amended by E.O. 12013 (3 CFR, 1977 
Comp., p. 147), E.O. 12318 (3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173), and E.O. 
12518 (3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348).

    2. Section 806.16 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 806.16  Rules and regulations for BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. 
Direct Investment Abroad--1994.

    A BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad will be 
conducted covering 1994. All legal authorities, provisions, 
definitions, and requirements contained in Secs. 806.1 through 806.13 
and Sec. 806.14 (a) through (d) are applicable to this survey. Specific 
additional rules and regulations for the BE-10 survey are given in 
paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section.
    (a) Response required. A response is required from persons subject 
to the reporting requirements of the BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. 
Direct Investment Abroad--1994, contained herein, whether or not they 
are contacted by BEA. Also, a person, or their agent, who is contacted 
by BEA about reporting in this survey, either by sending them a report 
form or by written inquiry, must respond in writing pursuant to 
Sec. 806.4. They may respond by:
    (1) Certifying in writing, within 30 days of being contacted by 
BEA, to the fact that the person had no direct investment within the 
purview of the reporting requirements of the BE-10 survey;
    (2) Completing and returning the ``BE-10 Claim for Not Filing'' 
within 30 days of receipt of the BE-10 survey report forms; or
    (3) Filing the properly completed BE-10 report (comprising Form BE-
10A or BE-10A BANK and Forms BE-10B(LF), BE-10B(SF) and/or BE-10B BANK) 
by May 31, 1995, or June 30, 1995, as required.
    (b) Who must report. (1) A BE-10 report is required of any U.S. 
person that had a foreign affiliate--that is, that had direct or 
indirect ownership or control of at least 10 percent of the voting 
stock of an incorporated foreign business enterprise, or an equivalent 
interest in an unincorporated foreign business enterprise--at any time 
during the U.S. person's 1994 fiscal year.
    (2) If the U.S. person had no foreign affiliates during its 1994 
fiscal year, a ``BE-10 Claim for Not filing'' must be filed within 30 
days of receipt of the BE-10 survey package; no other forms in the 
survey are required. If the U.S. person had any foreign affiliates 
during its 1994 fiscal year, a BE-10 report is required and the U.S. 
person is a U.S. Reporter in this survey.
    (3) Reports are required even though the foreign business 
enterprise was established, acquired, seized, liquidated, sold, 
expropriated, or inactivated during the U.S. person's 1994 fiscal year.
    (c) Forms for nonbank U.S. Reporters and foreign affiliates. (1) 
Form BE-10A (Report for the U.S. Reporter). A BE-10A report must be 
completed by a U.S. Reporter that is not a bank. If the U.S. Reporter 
is a corporation, Form BE-10A is required to cover the fully 
consolidated U.S. domestic business enterprise.
    (i) If a nonbank U.S. Reporter had any foreign affiliates, whether 
held directly or indirectly, for which any one of the following three 
items--total assets, sales or gross operating revenues excluding sales 
taxes, or net income after provision for foreign income taxes--was 
greater than $3 million (positive or negative) at any time during the 
affiliate's 1994 fiscal year, the U.S. Reporter must file a complete 
Form BE-10A and, as applicable, a BE-10A SUPPLEMENT listing each, if 
any, exempt foreign affiliate. It must also file a Form BE-10B(LF), BE-
10B(SF), or BE-10B BANK, as appropriate, for each nonexempt foreign 
affiliate.
    (ii) If a nonbank U.S. Reporter had no foreign affiliates for which 
any one of the three items listed in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this 
section was greater than $3 million (positive or negative) at any time 
during the affiliate's 1994 fiscal year, then only items 1-4 of Form 
BE-10A and the BE-10A SUPPLEMENT, listing all exempt foreign 
affiliates, must be completed.
    (2) Form BE-10B(LF) or (SF) (Report for foreign affiliate).
    (i) A BE-10B(LF) (Long Form) must be filed for each nonbank foreign 
affiliate of a nonbank U.S. Reporter, whether held directly or 
indirectly, for which any one of the three items--total assets, sales 
or gross operating revenues excluding sales taxes, or net income after 
provision for foreign income taxes--was greater than $50 million 
(positive or negative) at any time during the affiliate's 1994 fiscal 
year.
    (ii) A BE-10B(SF) (Short Form) must be filed.
    (A) For each nonbank foreign affiliate of a nonbank U.S. Reporter, 
whether held directly or indirectly, for which any one of the three 
items listed in (c)(2)(i) above was greater than $3 million, but for 
which no one of these items was greater than $50 million (positive or 
negative), at any time during the affiliate's 1994 fiscal year, and
    (B) For each nonbank foreign affiliate of a U.S. bank Reporter, 
whether held directly or indirectly, for which any one of the three 
items listed in (c)(2)(i) above was greater than $3 million (positive 
or negative) at any time during the affiliate's 1994 fiscal year.
    (iii) Notwithstanding paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (c)(2)(ii) of this 
section, a Form BE-10B(LF) or (SF) must be filed for a foreign 
affiliate of the U.S. Reporter that owns another nonexempt foreign 
affiliate of that U.S. Reporter, even if the foreign affiliate parent 
is otherwise exempt, i.e., a form BE-10B(LF), (SF), or BANK must be 
filed for all affiliates upward in a chain of ownership.
    (d) Forms for U.S. Reporters and foreign affiliates that are banks 
or bank holding companies.
    (1) For purposes of the BE-10 survey, ``banking'' covers a business 
entity engaged in deposit banking or closely related functions, 
including commercial banks, Edge Act corporations engaged in 
international or foreign banking, foreign branches and agencies of U.S. 
banks whether or not they accept deposits abroad, savings and loans, 
savings banks, and bank holding companies, i.e., holding companies for 
which over 50 percent of their total income is from banks that they 
hold. If the bank or bank holding company is part of a consolidated 
business enterprise and the gross operating revenues from nonbanking 
activities of this consolidated entity are more than 50 percent of its 
total revenues, then the consolidated entity is deemed not to be a bank 
even if banking revenues make up the largest single source of all 
revenues. (Activities of subsidiaries of a bank or bank holding company 
that may not be banks but that provide support to the bank parent 
company, such as real estate subsidiaries set up to hold the office 
buildings occupied by the bank parent company, are considered bank 
activities.)
    (2) Form BE-10A BANK (Report for a U.S. Reporter that is a bank). A 
BE-10A BANK report must be completed by a U.S. Reporter that is a bank. 
For purposes of filing Form BE-10A BANK, the U.S. Reporter is deemed to 
be the fully consolidated U.S. domestic business enterprise and all 
required data on the form shall be for the fully consolidated domestic 
entity.
    (i) If a U.S. bank had any foreign affiliates at any time during 
its 1994 fiscal year, whether a bank or nonbank and whether held 
directly or indirectly, for which any one of the three items--total 
assets, sales or gross operating revenues excluding sales taxes, or net 
income after provision for foreign income taxes--was greater than $3 
million (positive or negative) at any time during the affiliate's 1994 
fiscal year, the U.S. Reporter must file a complete Form BE-10A BANK 
and, as applicable, a BE-10A BANK SUPPLEMENT listing each, if any, 
exempt foreign affiliate, whether bank or nonbank. It must also file a 
Form BE-10B(SF) for each nonexempt nonbank foreign affiliate and a Form 
BE-10B BANK for each nonexempt foreign bank affiliate.
    (ii) If the U.S. bank Reporter had no foreign affiliates for which 
any one of the three items listed in paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this 
section was greater than $3 million (positive or negative) at any time 
during the affiliate's 1994 fiscal year, then only items 1-4 of Form 
BE-10A BANK and the BE-10A BANK SUPPLEMENT, listing all exempt foreign 
affiliates, should be completed.
    (3) Form BE-10B BANK (Report for a foreign affiliate that is a 
bank).
    (i) A BE-10B BANK report must be filed for each foreign bank 
affiliate of a bank or nonbank U.S. Reporter, whether directly or 
indirectly held, for which any one of the three items--total assets, 
sales or gross operating revenues excluding sales taxes, or net income 
after provision for foreign income taxes--was greater than $3 million 
(positive or negative) at any time during the affiliate's 1994 fiscal 
year.
    (ii) Notwithstanding paragraph (d)(3)(i) of this section, a Form 
BE-10B BANK must be filed for a foreign bank affiliate of the U.S. 
Reporter that owns another nonexempt foreign affiliate of that U.S. 
Reporter, even if the foreign affiliate parent is otherwise exempt, 
i.e., a Form BE-10B(LF), (SF), or BANK must be filed for all affiliates 
upward in a chain of ownership. However, a Form BE-10B BANK is not 
required to be filed for a foreign bank affiliate in which the U.S. 
Reporter holds only an indirect ownership interest of 50 percent or 
less and that does not own a reportable nonbank foreign affiliate, but 
the indirectly owned bank affiliate must be listed on the BE-10A BANK 
SUPPLEMENT.
    (e) Due date. A fully completed and certified BE-10 report 
comprising Form BE-10A or 10A BANK, BE-10A SUPPLEMENT (as required), 
and Form(s) BE-10B(LF), (SF), or BANK (as required) is due to be filed 
with BEA not later than May 31, 1995 for those U.S. Reporters filing 
less than 50, and June 30, 1995 for those U.S. Reporters filing 50 or 
more, Forms BE-10B(LF), (SF), or BANK.
[FR Doc. 94-20975 Filed 8-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-EA-M