[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 10, 1996)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 36318-36320] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-17485] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Bureau of the Census 15 CFR Part 30 [Docket No. 960606162-6162] RIN 0607-AA21 Collection of Canadian Province of Origin Information on Customs Entry Records AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census (Census) intends to direct the U.S. Customs Service (Customs) to begin collecting information on Canadian Province of Origin for imports from Canada. This information would be required for all U.S. imports that originate in Canada, except for imports of softwood lumber products that already require information on Canadian Province of Manufacture. This action is taken to fulfill the requirements of the 1987 agreement between the United States and Canada under which the countries agreed to replace their requirements for reporting export data by substituting exchanged import information. DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 9, 1996. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments on this proposed rulemaking to the Director, Bureau of the Census, Room 2049, Federal Building 3, Washington, D.C. 20233. Direct all written comments on the paperwork burden of the collection of information contained in this proposed rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Washington, D.C. 20503 Attention: Desk Officer for Customs. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information should be directed to C. Harvey Monk, Jr., Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. 20233, by telephone on (301) 457-2255 or by fax on (301) 457-2645. For information on the specific Customs reporting requirements contact: J. Edgar Nichols, U.S. Customs Service, Room 6216, 1301 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20229, by telephone on(202) 927-1426 or by fax on (202) 927-0165. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Effective in January 1990, the United States and Canada each replaced their requirements for reporting export data by agreeing to substitute exchanged import information. This substitution of exchanged import information allowed the countries to eliminate the requirements that exporters in both countries provide separate export information on the millions of shipments crossing the U.S./Canada border each year. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) implementing the exchange was signed by the United States and Canada on July 29, 1987. Under the terms of the MOU, the United States and Canada agreed to collect several new data elements on their respective import records. These elements while improving both countries' statistical data and allowing elimination of export reporting are also essential to the administration of the North American Free Trade Agreement. One of the data elements that the United States agreed to collect is the Canadian Province of Origin where the specific goods exported to the United States were produced. Census has attempted in the past to derive this information from related information now reported on Customs entry records as part of the required Identification of the Foreign Manufacturer. The quality of this derived information, however, has proven unsatisfactory. In many cases the Province currently reported does not identify the location where the goods were manufactured/ assembled, mined, grown, or otherwise produced. Instead, it represents a corporate headquarters or the location of the Canadian vendor. Proposed Requirement In order to comply with the MOU, Census asks Customs to require the two-letter designation of the Canadian Province of Origin to be reported on U.S. entry summary records in lieu of the Country of Origin. The Province of Origin is defined as the province where the exported goods were originally manufactured/assembled, grown, mined, or otherwise produced. For goods manufactured/assembled in Canada, with the exception of softwood lumber, the Province of Origin would be that in which the final manufacture/assembly is performed prior to exporting that product to the United States. In cases where the Province in which the merchandise was manufactured/assembled, grown, mined, or produced is unknown, the Province in which the Canadian vendor is located may be reported. For all shipments of softwood lumber products classified under U.S. Harmonized System tariff items 4407.1000, 4409.1010, 4409.1090, or 4409.1020, the Census Bureau began, effective April 5, 1996, to require information on Canadian Province of Manufacture. This requirement was made to allow the United States to carry out the requirements of an agreement concluded with Canada on the amount of softwood lumber exported to the United States annually. Since Canadian Province of Manufacture is already required for these softwood lumber products, the requirements proposed in this notice do not apply. The reporting of the Province of Origin will apply to the paper as well as Automated Broker Interface (ABI) entry summaries. For those reporting on paper forms, the Province of Origin code is to replace the Country of Origin on the Customs Form (CF) 7501 Summary Entry form. This requirement would apply only for imports with Country of Origin from Canada. All electronic ABI Entry Summaries for imports originating in Canada would also require the new Canadian Province of Origin code to be reported in lieu of the Country of Origin. Currently the Country of Origin is transmitted for each entry summary line item in the A40 record positions 6-7. Proposed Collection For imports from Canada only, the Province of Origin Code replaces Country of Origin on the CF 7501, Summary Entry form and in positions 6-7 of the ABI A40 electronic record. [[Page 36319]] Valid Canadian Province/Territory Codes are: XA--Alberta XB--New Brunswick XC--British Columbia XM--Manitoba XN--Nova Scotia XO--Ontario XP--Prince Edward Island XQ--Quebec XS--Saskatchewan XT--Northwest Territories XW--Newfoundland XY--Yukon Territory The authority to collect this information is provided under Title 13, United States Code, Section 301 (13 U.S.C. 301). This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to collect from persons importing into or exporting from the United States necessary or appropriate information to foster, promote, develop, and further the commerce, domestic and foreign, of the United States. Paperwork Reduction Act The collection of information on Canadian Province of Origin supplements information currently required on the Customs paper form CF 7501 and the ABI automated electronic reporting form A40 for specific softwood lumber imports from Canada. The new collection contained in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been submitted to the OMB by Customs for review under Section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). For copies of the OMB submission, contact J. Edgar Nichols, U.S. Customs Service, Room 6216, 1301 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20229-0001, by telephone on (202) 927- 1426 or by fax (202) 927-0165. Title: Customs Form 7501 Summary Entry Form and the Electronic ABI Entry Summaries A40 Record. OMB Number: 1515-0065. Form Numbers: CF 7501 and CF 7501A and the automated counterpart, the A40 record. Type of Review: Regular Submission. Affected Public: Approximately 150 Northern Border entry filers with imports from Canada. Estimated Time Per Response: We anticipate no increase in the current 22-minute estimate to prepare the CF 7501 and 7501A Entry Summary forms or the electronic counterpart, the Automated Commercial System (ACS) A40 record. Province of Origin is currently available to importers and the Province of Origin codes will replace the Country of Origin code currently being collected. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hour Increase: None. Estimated Record Keeping Time Increase: None. Estimated Total Annual Cost Increase: None. Comments are solicited on Customs' need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimate, ways to enhance the quality of the information to be collected and any suggested methods for minimizing respondents' burden. Persons wishing to comment on this collection of information should direct their comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for Customs. Comments must be filed with OMB within 60 days after this notice is published in the Federal Register. Rulemaking Requirements This rule is exempt from all requirements of section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act because it deals with a foreign affairs function (5 U.S.C. 553 (a)(1)). However, this rule is being published as a proposed rule with an opportunity for public comment because of the importance of the issues raised by this rulemaking. Because a notice of proposed rulemaking is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required and has not been prepared (5 U.S.C. 603 (a)). This rule is exempt from the requirements of Executive Order 12866. This rule does not contain policies with Federalism implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism assessment under Executive Order 12612. List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 30 Economic statistics, Foreign trade, Imports, Reporting and record keeping requirements. For the reasons set out in the preamble, it is proposed that Part 30 be amended as follows: PART 30--FOREIGN TRADE STATISTICS REGULATIONS 1. The authority citation for 15 CFR Part 30 continues to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 13 U.S.C. 301-307; Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950 (3 CFR 1949-1953 Camp., 1004); Department of Commerce Organization Order No. 35-2A. August 4, 1975, 40 CFR 42765 Subpart F--Special Provisions for Particular Types of Import Transactions 2. Section 30.80 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 30.80 Imports from Canada. (a) When certain softwood lumber products described under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 4407.1000, 4409.1010, 4409.1090, and 4409.1020 are imported from Canada, import entry records are required to show a valid Canadian Province of Manufacture Code. The Canadian Province of Manufacture is determined on a first mill basis (the point at which the item was first manufactured into a covered lumber product). For purposes of determination, Province of Manufacture is the first province where the subject merchandise underwent a change in tariff classification to the tariff classes cited above. The Province of Manufacture Code should replace the Country of Origin on the CF 7501 Summary Entry form. For ACS entry summaries, the Canadian Province Code should be transmitted in lieu of the Country of Origin in positions 6-7 of the A40 records. These requirements would apply only for imports of softwood products with Country of Origin Canada. (b) All other imports from Canada, including softwood lumber products not covered in paragraph (a) of this section, will require the two-letter designation of the Canadian Province of Origin to be reported on U.S. entry summary records. The Province of Origin is defined as the Province where the exported goods were originally manufactured/assembled, grown, mined, or otherwise produced. For goods manufactured/assembled in Canada with the exception of the softwood lumber described in paragraph (a) of this section, the Province of Origin is that in which the final manufacture/assembly is performed prior to exporting that product to the United States. In cases where the province in which the merchandise was manufactured/assembled, grown, mined, or produced is unknown, the province in which the Canadian vendor is located can be reported. For those reporting on paper forms the Province of Origin code is proposed to replace the country of origin on the CF 7501 Summary Entry form. (c) All electronic ABI Entry Summaries for imports originating in Canada would also require the new Canadian Province of Origin code to be reported in lieu of the Country of Origin. Currently, the Country of Origin is transmitted for each entry summary line item in the A 40 record positions 6-7. (d) The Province of Origin code replaces Country of Origin only for imports from Canada. Valid Canadian Province/Territory Codes are: [[Page 36320]] XA--Alberta XB--New Brunswick XC--British Columbia XM--Manitoba XN--Nova Scotia XO--Ontario XP--Prince Edward Island XQ--Quebec XS--Saskatchewan XT--Northwest Territories XW--Newfoundland XY--Yukon Territory Dated: July 3, 1996. Bryant Benton, Deputy Director, Bureau of the Census [FR Doc. 96-17485 Filed 7-9-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-07-P