[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 17, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48270-48272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16305]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 050406094-5201-02]
RIN 0691-AA59


International Services Surveys: Cancellation of Five Annual 
Surveys

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule removes the reporting requirements for five 
annual surveys covering international trade in services. The five 
annual surveys being discontinued are: BE-36, BE-47, BE-48, BE-82, and 
BE-93. The surveys are being discontinued because they have been 
replaced by quarterly surveys that collect essentially the same 
information.

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule will be effective at 5 p.m. 
September 16, 2005.

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) 606-9890 or 
e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the May 5, 2005 Federal Register, 70 FR 
23811-23813, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) published a notice 
of proposed rulemaking to remove the reporting requirements for five 
annual surveys covering international trade in services. No comments on 
the proposed rule were received. Thus, the provisions in the proposed 
rule are adopted without change. This final rule amends 15 CFR part 801 
by revising Section 801.9(b) to remove the reporting requirements for 
five annual surveys that collect data covering international trade in 
services. The five surveys are:

    BE-36, Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the 
United States.
    BE-47, Annual Survey of Construction, Engineering, 
Architectural, and Mining Services Provided by U.S. Firms to 
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
    BE-48, Annual Survey of Reinsurance and Other Insurance 
Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons.
    BE-82, Annual Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between 
U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
    BE-93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other 
Receipts and Payments for Intangible Rights Between U.S. and 
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.

    BEA is removing the reporting requirements for these five annual 
surveys because the information is now being collected on four separate 
quarterly surveys. Specifically, the BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign 
Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States, replaces 
the BE-36 survey; the BE-25, Quarterly Survey of Transactions Between 
U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons in Selected Services and in 
Intangible Assets, replaces the BE-47 and BE-93 surveys; the BE-45, 
Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies 
with Foreign Persons, replaces the BE-48 survey; and the BE-85, 
Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. 
Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons, replaces 
the BE-82 survey. BEA began collecting data on these quarterly surveys 
in 2004.

[[Page 48271]]

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.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation certified to the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that this rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities as that term is defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq. The factual basis for this certification was 
published in the proposed rule. No comments were received regarding the 
economic impact of this rule. As a result, no final regulatory 
flexibility analysis was prepared.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The surveys being discontinued by this rule have been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act under the following OMB control numbers: 0608-0013 (BE-36 survey), 
0608-0015 (BE-47 survey), 0608-0016 (BE-48 survey), 0608-0017 (BE-93 
survey), and 0608-0063 (BE-82 survey). OMB approved the quarterly 
surveys under the following OMB control numbers: 0608-0068 (BE-9 
survey); 0608-0067 (BE-25 survey); 0608-0066 (BE-45 survey); and 0608-
0065 (BE-85 survey).

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

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

J. Steven Landefeld,
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 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; 
and 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) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  801.9  Reports required.

* * * * *
    (b) Annual surveys. (1) BE-29, Foreign Ocean Carriers' Expenses in 
the United States:
    (i) Who must report. A BE-29 report is required from U.S. agents on 
behalf of foreign ocean carriers transporting freight or passengers to 
or from the United States. U.S. agents are steamship agents and other 
persons representing foreign carriers in arranging ocean transportation 
of freight and cargo between U.S. and foreign ports and in arranging 
port services in the United States. Foreign carriers are foreign 
persons that own or operate ocean going vessels calling at U.S. ports, 
including VLCC tankers discharging petroleum offshore to pipelines and 
lighter vessels destined for U.S. ports. They include carriers who own 
or who operate their own or chartered (United States or foreign-flag) 
vessels. They also include foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies 
operating their own or chartered vessels as carriers for their own 
accounts. Where the vessels under foreign registry are operated 
directly by a U.S. carrier for its own account, the operations of such 
vessels should be reported on Form BE-30, Ocean Freight Revenues and 
Foreign Expenses of United States Carriers. The Bureau of Economic 
Analysis may, in lieu of BE-29 reports required from foreign carriers' 
U.S. agents, accept consolidated reports from foreign governments 
covering the operations of their national shipping concerns when, in 
the Bureau's discretion, such consolidated reports would provide the 
required information. Where such reports are accepted, the individual 
reports from foreign carriers' U.S. agents will not be required.
    (ii) Exemption. Any U.S. person otherwise required to report is 
exempted from reporting if the total number of port calls by foreign 
vessels handled in the reporting period is less than forty or total 
covered expenses are less than $250,000. For example, if an agent 
handled less than 40 port calls in a calendar year, the agent is 
exempted from reporting. If the agent handled 40 or more calls, the 
agent must report unless covered expenses for all foreign carriers 
handled by the agent were less than $250,000. The determination of 
whether a U.S. person is exempt may be based on the judgment of 
knowledgeable persons who can identify reportable transactions without 
conducting a detailed manual records search.
    (2) BE-22, Annual Survey of Selected Services Transactions With 
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons:
    (i) Who must report--(A) Mandatory reporting. A BE-22 report is 
required from each U.S. person who had transactions (either sales or 
purchases) in excess of $1,000,000 with unaffiliated foreign persons in 
any of the covered services during the U.S. person's fiscal year. The 
determination of whether a U.S. person is subject to this mandatory 
reporting requirement may be judgmental, that is, based on the judgment 
of knowledgeable persons in a company who can identify reportable 
transactions on a recall basis, with a reasonable degree of certainty 
without conducting a detailed manual records search.
    (B) Voluntary reporting. If, during the U.S. person's fiscal year, 
the U.S. person's total transactions (either sales or purchases) in any 
of the covered services is $1,000,000 or less, the U.S. person is 
requested to provide an estimate of the total for each type of service. 
Provision of this information is voluntary. The estimates may be 
judgmental, that is, based on recall, without conducting a detailed 
manual records search.
    (C) Any U.S. person receiving a BE-22 survey form from BEA must 
complete all relevant parts of the form and return the form to BEA. A 
person that is not subject to the mandatory reporting requirement in 
paragraph (b)(2)(i)(A) of this section and is not filing information on 
a voluntary basis must only complete the ``Determination of reporting 
status'' and the ``Certification'' sections of the survey. This 
requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with the reporting 
requirements and efficient administration of the survey by eliminating 
unnecessary followup contact.
    (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 productions 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

[[Page 48272]]

(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 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).
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[FR Doc. 05-16305 Filed 8-16-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P