[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 237 (Monday, December 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30393]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 12, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis
15 CFR Part 806
[Docket No. 94108-4308]
RIN 0691-AA23

 

Direct Investment Surveys: Raising Exemption Level for Quarterly 
Report Form BE-577

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule will amend 15 CFR 806.14 to raise the 
exemption level for filing quarterly Form BE-577, Direct Transactions 
of U.S. Reporter With Foreign Affiliate. The BE-577 is a mandatory 
survey of U.S. direct investment abroad conducted by the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce. Under this 
proposed rule, the exemption level for the survey--the level below 
which reports are not required--would be raised from $15 million to $20 
million. This change will reduce the number of respondents that 
otherwise must report in the survey, thus reducing both the reporting 
and processing burdens. (As noted below, however, BEA is proposing the 
addition of a number of items to the survey form that do not require a 
rule change and that will increase reporting burden, exactly offsetting 
the reduction in burden due to raising the exemption level.)

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before January 26, 1995.

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, N.W., Washington, 
DC 20005. Comments received will be available for public inspection in 
Room 7006, 1441 L Street, N.W., 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: The BE-577, Direct Transactions of U.S. 
Reporter With Foreign Affiliate, is part of BEA's regular data 
collection program for U.S. direct investment abroad. The survey is 
mandatory and is conducted pursuant to the International Investment and 
Trade in Services Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 90 Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 
3101-3108, as amended).
    The exemption level is set in terms of the size of a U.S. company's 
foreign affiliates. Under this proposed rule, the exemption level for 
the BE-577 survey will be raised from $15 million to $20 million. Thus, 
if an affiliate is owned 10 percent or more by the U.S. company and has 
assets, sales, or net income greater than $20 million (positive or 
negative), it will have to be reported. The last time the exemption 
level was raised was May 1, 1986.
    Raising the exemption level lowers the number of reports that 
otherwise must be filed, thus reducing the reporting and processing 
burdens. The proposed changes would be effective commencing on January 
1, 1995 with the reports for the first quarter of 1995.
    BEA is proposing changes to the BE-577 survey form in addition to 
the raising of the exemption level. These changes, however, do not 
require rule changes and are not reflected in the proposed rule. They 
are a result of changes made to the related BE-10, Benchmark Survey of 
U.S. Direct Investment Abroad--1994. They include the combination of 
two items that appeared on the 1994 BE-577 survey and the addition of 
other items that are on the 1994 BE-10 but were not on the 1994 BE-577. 
Changes in the survey instructions are being made primarily for 
purposes of clarification and to reflect the combination or addition of 
items on the form.
    Added to the form are items, to be completed annually, on services 
transactions between U.S. Reporters and their foreign affiliates by 
type and an item, to be completed quarterly by affiliates classified in 
banking, on the U.S. Reporter's share of the affiliate's provision for 
loan losses. The additional detail on services transactions by type 
will move BEA's services data into closer conformity with international 
guidelines in the fifth edition of the International Monetary Fund's 
Balance of Payments Manual, which suggest that services transactions be 
disaggregated by specific types of services. The item on the loan 
losses of banks is needed by BEA to adjust net income of U.S. 
multinational companies to an economic accounting basis, as required 
for entry into the U.S. national income and product accounts.
    The reporting burden for the 1995 BE-577 survey is estimated at 
46,000 hours, 4,000 hours more than the estimate currently in the OMB 
inventory. The increase reflects an adjustment in the hours currently 
in the OMB inventory to account for an increase in the number of 
respondents, due to natural growth in the affiliate sample, since the 
estimate in the inventory was made. There is no net change in burden 
hours due to program changes; the increase in burden due to the 
addition of new items to the form is exactly offset by the decrease in 
burden due to raising the exemption level.
    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

    The proposed rule does not contain policies with Federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
assessment under E.O. 12612.

Executive Order 12866

    The proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The proposed rule contains 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 be 1.15 hours per response (form). The burden on the U.S. 
Reporter will vary depending on the number of forms that must be 
submitted in a given reporting period; this ranges from 1 to 225 forms. 
The estimated burden of 1.15 hours per form includes the 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 Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation, 
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 rule, 
if adopted, will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Because it raises the exemption 
level for filing the survey, it will actually reduce the reporting 
requirements of smaller entities.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 806

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

    Dated: October 27, 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).


Sec. 806.14  [Amended]

    2. Sec. 806.14(e), is amended by deleting ``$15,000,000'' and 
inserting ``$20,000,000'' in its place.

[FR Doc. 94-30393 Filed 12-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-EA-M