[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51922-51923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-25534]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 51922]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary


Electronic Submission of Export Sales Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) is 
developing procedures to permit electronic submission of the currently 
approved information collection for commodities subject to the Export 
Sales Reporting Requirements Regulation (7 CFR part 20). Electronic 
submission of the information collection will be implemented first for 
fresh, chilled, and frozen muscle cuts of beef, and by marketing year 
2003 extended to all commodities subject to 7 CFR part 20.

DATES: Comments on this notice should be received on or before November 
13, 2001 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver comments to Denise Huttenlocker, Director, 
Marketing Operations Staff, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Stop 1042, 
Washington, DC 20250-1042, or telephone at 202-720-4327, or e-mail at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Huttenlocker, at the address 
above, or telephone at (202) 720-4327, or e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   
    Title: Export Sales of U.S. Agricultural Commodities.
    OMB Number: 0551-0007.
    Expiration Date of Approval: July 31, 2004.
    Type of Request: Public comments on electronic submission of a 
currently approved information collection.
    Abstract: Section 602 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 5712) requires mandatory reporting of export sales 
contracts for specified U.S. produced agricultural commodities. The 
Department's Export Sales Reporting Program is administered by FAS in 
accordance with 7 CFR part 20. The Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 was 
amended by section 921 of Pub. L. 106-78 (the Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2000) to require weekly export sales reporting for 
beef. Section 913(b)(1) of Pub. L. 106-78 requires implementation of an 
electronic system for reporting this commodity. FAS published a final 
rule (66 FR 38526-38528) to amend 7 CFR part 20 to add fresh, chilled, 
and forzen muscle cuts of beef to the weekly reporting requirements. 
The final rule stated that prior to the establishment of an electronic 
reporting system, the Department would solicit public comments on the 
electronic forms developed for export sales reports for fresh, chilled, 
and frozen muscle cuts of beef. In addition, since FAS intends to 
provide exporters the opportunity to submit export sales reports 
electronically for all commodities subject to the Regulation, public 
comments are also being requested from exporters of these commodities. 
The system should be fully automated by marketing year 2003. All public 
comments received will be considered prior to implementation of an 
electronic reporting system.

Required Weekly Reporting

    U.S. exporters are required to report to the FAS Export Sales 
Reporting staff certain information pertaining to export sales of a 
reportable commodity. Data reported is aggregated and released on a 
weekly basis reflecting the ``outstanding commitments'' of the 
specified commodities for export. New outstanding quantities are 
established each week by adding any new export sales activity to the 
previous week's outstanding balances and substracting the current 
week's shipments plus downward or upward contract adjustments. Although 
this is not official U.S. trade data, it is widely used as an early 
indicator of sales and export activity and is available the week 
following the week of reporting. The data is published in compilation 
form to protect business confidential information submitted.

Currently Approved Forms (Hard Copy) for all Commodities

    (1) Weekly export sales and shipment activities are submitted by 
the reporting exporter using the form FAS-98 Rev. 9-98, ``Report of 
Export Sales and Exports''.
    (2) For the limited sales, identified as optional origin sales, the 
reporting exporter uses the form FAS-97 Rev. 9-98, ``Report of Optional 
Origin Sales''.
    (3) For activity involving commodities that have been shipped from 
the U.S., but are unsold or have not been allocated to an existing 
sales contract, the reporting exporter uses the form FAS-100 Rev. 9-98, 
``Report of Exports for Exporter's Own Account''.
    (4) Quarterly reports providing selected data on individual sales 
contracts are submitted using the form FAS-99 Rev. 9-98, ``Contract 
Terms Supporting Export Sales and Foreign Purchases''. The total 
outstanding contracts identified on the quarterly report are used as a 
check to ensure exporters have included all sales activity on their 
weekly ``FAS-98'' reports.

Proposed Electronic Forms for Reporting Export Sales of Certain 
Beef and all Other Reportable Commodities

    The Department is requesting comments on electronic submission of 
export sales data. The electronic reporting system would be accessed 
via a secured Internet website using the reporting exporter's personal 
computer, office computer, or existing electronic recordkeeping system. 
Reporting exporters will be assigned a confidential firm number and 
unique password by the Export Sales Reporting staff which will be used 
to log into the electronic reporting website. FAS will utilize a 
program developed to collect and manage data received from exporters 
which will ensure security of data transmission and storage, and 
confidentiality of information that is maintained by FAS.
    The electronic reporting system will consist of a menu with six 
selections. Three of the selections will be data entry forms to report 
sales data, and the other three selections will be reference forms to 
allow a reporting exporter to

[[Page 51923]]

review data that has been submitted previously.
    Data Entry Forms: The following three forms for data entry will 
allow a reporting exporter to submit data for export sales for the 
current reporting period:
    (1) FAS-97e ``Report of Optional Origin Sales''. This form requires 
submission of the same data as required by OMB approved (hard copy) 
form FAS-97 Rev. 9-98.
    (2) FAS-98e ``Report of Export Sales and Exports''. This form 
requires submission of the same data as required by OMB approved (hard 
copy) form FAS-98 Rev. 9-98.
    (3) FAS-100e ``Report of Exports for Exporter's Own Account''. This 
form requires submission of the same data as required by OMB approved 
(hard copy) form FAS-100 Rev. 9-98.
    After all data is entered on these forms, the person entering the 
data will click on the box at the bottom of the form titled ``SUBMIT''. 
This will transmit the completed form to FAS. If a submission 
transmitted to FAS contains any mathematical errors, or incomplete 
entries, an ``ERROR'' message will appear on the computer screen 
identifying information that needs to be corrected or needs to be 
entered before resubmission.
    Electronic entries may be submitted to FAS beginning on Thursday 
after 5:00 pm (EST) through Monday at midnight (EST) for the prior 
week's activity. Reports submitted are processed and compiled into the 
``U.S. Export Sales'' Report by the FAS Export Sales Reporting staff 
between Tuesday and publication on Thursday. Any changes to published 
data must be reported to FAS for corrective action.
    Reference Forms The following three forms will be posted to the 
Internet for reference only. They will permit an exporter to review 
information and data that has been submitted electronically for a 
specific reporting period. No changes may be made on these forms.
    (4) List of FAS-97e-Report of Optional Origin Sales Records 
submitted.
    (5) List of FAS 98e-Report of Export Sales and Exports submitted.
    (6) List of FAS-100e-Report of Exports for Exporter's Own Account 
Records submitted.

Alternative Proposed Electronic Method for Reporting Export Sales 
of Certain Beef

    Certain exporters who are required to report information regarding 
the marketing of beef to the Agricultural marketing Service (AMS) 
pursuant to 7 CFR part 59 (Livestock Mandatory Reporting) will also be 
responsible for reporting weekly export sales to FAS for fresh, 
chilled, and frozen muscle cuts of beef. AMS has provided a mechanism 
for receiving data through submission of ASCII comma delimited files by 
reporting entities.
    In view of this reporting option provided by AMS, exporters of 
certain beef reporting to FAS will have an option to e-mail a pre-
defined text file containing export sales data directly to FAS. This 
file will contain the same data as required by OMB approved (hard copy) 
form FAS-98 Rev. 9-98. FAS is specifically requesting comments on the 
feasibility of this option and its potential use by exporters, 
particularly those reporting to two USDA agencies.
    Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Kimberly 
Chisley, the Agency Information Collection Coordinator, at (202) 720-
2568.
    The public is invited to submit comments to the above address 
regarding the use of electronic submission of export sales reports for 
fresh, chilled, and frozen muscle cuts of beef, all other reportable 
commodities, or any other aspect of this collection of information. 
Comments are specifically invited on: ways to minimize the burden of 
collection on those required to respond; whether the proposed 
electronic submission program is sufficient for the proper performance 
of the required functions of FAS; and ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of proposed electronic mechanisms. Comments are 
most useful if received within 30 days of publication of the Notice and 
Request for Comments, to be assured of consideration. All comments will 
also become a matter of public record. Persons with disabilities who 
require an alternative means for communication of information (Braille, 
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Target Center at 
(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on October 3, 2001.
Mary Chambliss,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. 01-25534 Filed 10-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-M