[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10489-10490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4631]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 806

[Docket No. 9050206037-5037-01]
RIN 0691-AA23


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

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule amends regulations on direct investment 
surveys 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 final rule, the exemption level for the survey--the level below 
which reports are not required--is raised from $15 million to $20 
million. This change will reduce the number of respondents that 
otherwise must report in the survey.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will be effective March 29, 1995.

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: In the December 12, 1994 Federal Register, 
59 FR 63941, BEA published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would 
increase the exemption level for filing the BE-577, Direct Transactions 
of U.S. Reporter With Foreign Affiliate. No comments on the proposed 
rule itself were received. (As noted below, one comment on changes to 
the survey forms that did not require rule changes was received.) Thus, 
this final rule is the same as the proposed rule.
    The quarterly BE-577 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 final rule, the exemption level for the 
BE-577 survey is 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. If the affiliate does not meet 
these criteria, a report is not required. 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 changes in exemption level will be implemented beginning 
with the reports for the first quarter of 1995.
    BEA has made changes to the BE-577 survey form in addition to the 
raising of the exemption level. These changes, however, did not require 
rule changes and are not reflected in the final 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. 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. 
Also, changes in the survey instructions are being made primarily for 
purposes of clarification and to reflect the combination or addition of 
items.
    In response to the notice of proposed rulemaking, one letter of 
comment was received. It expressed concern that the new items on 
services transactions would impose additional burden by requiring 
modification of information systems and more time to complete the 
survey forms. The new items must be completed only annually, and the 
first time they will need to be completed will not be until the second 
quarter following the end of affiliates' fiscal year 1995, which in 
most cases will be mid-1996. This will give companies at least a year 
to implement program changes necessary to report this information.

Executive Order 12612

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

Executive Order 12866

    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The collection of information required in this final rule has been 
approved by OMB (OMB No. 0608-0004).
    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. 606(b)), that this final rule 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, Foreign investments in 
United States, Penalties, Reporting and [[Page 10490]] recordkeeping 
requirements, United States investments abroad.

    Dated: February 2, 1995.
Carol S. Carson,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA amends 15 CFR Part 
806 as follows:

PART 806--DIRECT INVESTMENT SURVEYS

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR Part 806 is revised 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. Section 806.14(e) is amended by removing ``$15,000,000'' and 
adding ``$20,000,000'' in its place.

[FR Doc. 95-4631 Filed 2-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-EA-M