[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 175 (Friday, September 10, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54751-54753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20502]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 040521151-4248-02]
RIN 0691-AA56


International Services Surveys: BE-22, Annual Survey of Selected 
Services Transactions With Unaffiliated Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule revises regulations for the BE-22, Annual 
Survey of Selected Services Transactions with Unaffiliated Foreign 
Persons.
    The BE-22 survey is conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 
(BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment 
and Trade in Services Survey Act. The data are needed to compile the 
U.S. international transactions, national income and product, and 
input-output accounts; support U.S. economic policy; assess U.S. 
competitiveness in international trade in services; and improve the 
ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities.
    This final rule changes the services covered by the survey. 
Specifically, the BE-22 annual survey will no longer cover the services 
that are covered by the new BE-25, Quarterly Survey of Transactions 
Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons in Selected Services and 
in Intangible Assets.

DATES: This final rule will be effective October 12, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Obie G. Whichard, Chief, International 
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800 or 
email ([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the June 7, 2004 Federal Register, 69 FR 
31771-31772, BEA published a notice of proposed rulemaking setting 
forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-22, Annual Survey of 
Selected Services Transactions with Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. BEA 
received one comment on the notice stating that the proposal did not 
contain enough detail for the public to truly comment and suggesting 
that it be reposted with fuller information. BEA did not repost the 
proposed rule for further comment because the original proposed rule 
contained sufficient information for public comment. BEA did respond to 
the commenter, explaining the reasons for the form of the proposal and 
indicating how more information on the BE-22 survey could be obtained. 
BEA directed the commenter to Internet sites where the existing rule 
and the survey form and instructions could be viewed and downloaded. 
Finally, BEA listed the services that would not be covered by the 
proposed survey but were covered on the prior version of the survey. 
Because no comments were received on the substance of the proposed 
rule, the rule is adopted without change.

[[Page 54752]]

    This final rule amends 15 CFR Part 801 by revising Sec.  
801.9(b)(6)(ii) to set forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-
22, Annual Survey of Selected Services Transactions with Unaffiliated 
Foreign Persons. The survey is conducted by the BEA, 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). 
Section 4(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103(a)) provides that the President 
shall, to the extent he deems necessary and feasible, conduct a regular 
data collection program to secure current information related to 
international investment and trade in services and publish for the use 
of the general public and the United States Government agencies 
periodic, regular, and comprehensive statistical information collected 
pursuant to this subsection. In Section 3 of Executive Order 11961, as 
amended by Executive Order 12518, the President delegated the authority 
under the Act as concerns international trade in services to the 
Secretary of Commerce, who has redelegated it to BEA.
    The BE-22 is an annual survey of selected services transactions 
with unaffiliated foreign persons. The data are needed to compile the 
U.S. international transactions, national income and product, and 
input-output accounts; support U.S. economic policy; assess U.S. 
competitiveness in international trade in services; and improve the 
ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities.
    This final rule revises the list of items set forth in section 
801.9(b)(6)(ii), ``Covered services,'' of the existing rule to exclude 
the following services: Accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping services; 
computer and data processing services; database and other information 
services; industrial engineering services; industrial-type maintenance, 
installation, alteration, and training services; legal services; 
management consulting, and public relations services; operational 
leasing services; research, development, and testing services; 
telecommunications services; and auxiliary insurance services 
transactions by insurance companies.

Executive Order 12866

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

Executive Order 13132

    This final rule does not contain policies with Federalism 
implications as that term is defined in E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The collection of information required in this final rule has been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA).
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the PRA unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB 
Control Number. The OMB number for the BE-22 is 0608-0060; the 
collection will display this control number.
    The survey is expected to result in the filing of reports from 
approximately 800 respondents. The respondent reporting burden for this 
collection of information is estimated to vary from less than four 
hours to 300 hours, with an overall average burden of 11.5 hours. This 
includes time for reviewing the instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection of information. Thus, the total respondent 
burden of the survey is estimated at about 9,200 hours (800 responses 
times 11.5 hours average burden).
    Comments 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 (fax: 202-606-5311); and either faxed (202-395-7245) or e-mailed 
([email protected]) to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A. 
(Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Chief Counsel for 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 this final rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Although BEA 
does not collect data on total sales or other measures of the overall 
size of businesses that respond to the survey, historically the 
respondent universe has been comprised mainly of major U.S. 
corporations. With the exemption level for the survey being $1 million 
in covered receipts or payments, the reporting threshold for this 
survey is set at a level that will exempt most small businesses from 
reporting. Of those smaller businesses that must report, most will tend 
to have specialized operations and activities and thus will be likely 
to report only one type of service transaction, often limited to 
transactions with a single partner country; therefore, the burden on 
them can be expected to be small.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

    Economic statistics, Foreign trade, Penalties, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: August 23, 2004.
Rosemary D. Marcuss,
Deputy Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA amends 15 CFR part 801, 
as follows:

PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S. 
AND FOREIGN PERSONS

0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 801 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; 
E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86, as amended by E.O. 12318, 3 
CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173, and E.O. 12518, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348.

0
2. Section 801.9(b)(6)(ii) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  801.9  Reports required.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (ii) Covered services. The covered services are: Advertising 
services; auxiliary insurance services (by non-insurance companies 
only); educational and training services; financial services (purchases 
only by non-financial services providers); medical services, inpatient 
(receipts only); medical services, other than inpatient (receipts 
only); merchanting services (receipts only); mining services; 
disbursements to fund news-gathering costs of broadcasters; 
disbursements to fund news-gathering costs of print media; 
disbursements to fund production costs of motion pictures; 
disbursements to fund production costs of broadcast program material 
other than news; disbursements to maintain government tourism and 
business promotion offices; disbursements for sales promotion and 
representation; disbursements to participate in foreign trade shows 
(purchases only); other trade-related services; performing arts, 
sports, and other live performances, presentations, and events; primary 
insurance premiums (payments only); primary insurance losses recovered; 
sale or purchase of rights to natural resources, and lease bonus 
payments; use or lease

[[Page 54753]]

of rights to natural resources, excluding lease bonus payments; waste 
treatment and depollution services; and other private services 
(language translation services; salvage services; security services; 
account collection services; satellite photography and remote sensing/
satellite imagery services; space transport (includes satellite 
launches, transport of goods and people for scientific experiments, and 
space passenger transport); and transcription services).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 04-20502 Filed 9-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P