[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19282-19284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7769]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 806

[Docket No. 110321207-1206-01 0691-AA78


Direct Investment Surveys: Alignment of Regulations With Current 
Practices

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) proposes to amend its 
regulations related to direct investment surveys. Specifically, BEA 
proposes to eliminate reporting requirements for several direct 
investment surveys that are no longer necessary because the information 
is collected on other surveys of direct investment conducted by BEA. 
The surveys that would be eliminated from the regulations are: a survey 
of foreign direct investment in the U.S. seafood industry (BE-21), two 
schedules of expenditures for property, plant, and equipment of U.S. 
direct investment abroad (BE-133B and BE-133C), and two industry 
classification questionnaires (BE-507 and BE-607). In addition, BEA 
proposes to eliminate the reporting requirements for two surveys of new 
foreign direct investment in the United States (BE-13 and BE-14). BEA 
suspended collection of these surveys in 2009 in order to align its 
international survey program with available resources. BEA also 
proposes other minor revisions to its regulations to eliminate outdated 
information.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before June 6, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0691-AA78, and 
referencing the agency name (Bureau of Economic Analysis), by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. For agency, select 
``Commerce Department--all.''
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: Office of the Chief, Direct Investment Division, 
(202) 606-5318.
     Mail: Office of the Chief, Direct Investment Division, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, BE-50, 
Washington, DC 20230.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of the Chief, Direct 
Investment Division, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, BE-50, Shipping and Receiving, Section M100, 1441 L Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the 
proposed rule should be sent both to BEA, through any of the methods 
above, and to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., Paperwork 
Reduction Project 0608-0024, 0608-0030, 0608-0032, 0608-0035, and 0608-
0050, Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA, via e-mail at 
[email protected], or by FAX at (202) 395-7245.
    Public Inspection: All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (for example, 
name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commentator may be 
publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. BEA will accept anonymous 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David H. Galler, Chief, Direct 
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9835.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule would amend 15 CFR part 
806 by revising Sections 806.14, 806.15, and 806.18 to remove the 
reporting requirements for several direct investment surveys. The 
surveys are:

BE-13, Initial Report on a Foreign Person's Direct or Indirect 
Acquisition, Establishment, or Purchase of the Operating Assets, of a

[[Page 19283]]

U.S. Business Enterprise, Including Real Estate
BE-14, Report by a U.S. Person Who Assists or Intervenes in the 
Acquisition of a U.S. Business Enterprise by, or Who Enters into a 
Joint Venture With, a Foreign Person
BE-21, Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in U.S. Business Enterprises 
Engaged in the Processing, Packaging, or Wholesale Distribution of Fish 
or Seafoods
BE-133B, Follow-up Schedule of Expenditures for Property, Plant, and 
Equipment of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad
BE-133C, Schedule of Expenditures for Property, Plant, and Equipment of 
U.S. Direct Investment Abroad
BE-507, Industry Classification Questionnaire
BE-607, Industry Classification Questionnaire

    The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and 
other Federal agencies to comment on the cancellation of the reporting 
requirements for these surveys, consistent with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995.
    BEA is proposing to remove the reporting requirements for the BE-13 
and the BE-14 surveys which were suspended in 2009 in order to align 
its international survey program with available resources. The surveys 
had been used to collect identification information on the U.S. 
business being established or acquired and on the new foreign owner, 
information on the cost of the investment and source of funding, and 
limited financial and operating data for the newly established or 
acquired entity. The data had been used to measure the amount of new 
foreign direct investment in the United States and assess its impact on 
the U.S. economy. BEA continues to identify newly acquired or 
established U.S. affiliates of foreign investors and bring them into 
its international survey program through the BE-12, BE-15, and BE-605 
surveys, which are the benchmark, annual, and quarterly surveys of 
foreign direct investment in the United States, respectively, but they 
are not separately identified in BEA's published statistics.
    BEA is proposing to eliminate the regulations for the BE-21, BE-
133B, BE-133C, BE-507, and BE-607 surveys since they have not been 
conducted in many years and are no longer necessary because the 
information is collected on other surveys of direct investment 
conducted by BEA.
    In addition, BEA proposes other minor revisions to its regulations 
to eliminate outdated information. These revisions eliminate references 
to outdated information regarding BE-10 survey forms and inactive OMB 
control numbers.

Executive Order 12866

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

Executive Order 13132

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

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approvals under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act for the seven surveys that BEA is proposing to 
eliminate have expired. The information collection approval for the BE-
13 and BE-14 (under OMB control number 0608-0035) expired on August 31, 
2009; the BE-21 approval (OMB control number 0608-0050) expired 
September 30, 1983; the BE-133B and BE-133C (OMB control number 0608-
0024) expired December 31, 1994; the BE-507 approval (OMB control 
number 0608-0032) expired April 30, 1997; and the BE-607 approval (OMB 
control number 0608-0030) expired on May 31, 1991.

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 proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. Entities that have foreign affiliates, that are at least ten 
percent foreign-owned, or that assisted or intervened in the 
acquisition of a U.S. business enterprise by a foreign person would 
have been subject to the reporting requirements that are proposed to be 
eliminated in this rulemaking. However, BEA does not currently collect 
data that enables BEA to determine how many of these entities would be 
considered ``small'' under the Small Business Administration's size 
standards. Although BEA does not know the number of small entities that 
would have been subject to the reporting requirements being eliminated 
by this rulemaking, BEA has determined that this action would not have 
a significant economic impact as this rule proposes to merely remove 
references to the surveys that are no longer in use. The collection of 
the BE-13 and BE-14 surveys was suspended in 2009, and the BE-21, BE-
133B, BE-133C, BE-507, and BE-607 surveys have not been conducted in 
many years. In addition, the information collection approvals for these 
surveys have expired and are no longer part of the inventory of active 
collections of information maintained by the Office of Management and 
Budget. Because there would be no impact to small entities as a result 
of this change to the regulations, the Chief Counsel certified that 
this proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 806

    Economic statistics, Foreign investment in the United States, 
International transactions, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: March 16, 2011.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    For reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 CFR 
part 806 as follows:

PART 806--DIRECT INVESTMENT SURVEYS

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 806 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 301; 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).

    2. Amend Sec.  806.14 to revise paragraphs (d), (f) and (g) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  806.14  U.S. direct investment abroad.

* * * * *
    (d) Exemption levels. Exemption levels for individual report forms 
will normally be stated in terms of total assets, net sales or gross 
operating revenues excluding sales taxes, and net income after income 
taxes, whether positive or negative, although different or special 
criteria may be specified for a given report form. If any one of the 
three items exceeds the exemption level and if the statistical data 
requested in the report are applicable to the entity being reported, 
then a report must be filed. Since these items may not have to be 
reported on a given form, a U.S. Reporter claiming exemption from 
filing a given form must furnish a certification as to the levels of 
the items on which the exemption is based or must certify that the data 
requested are not

[[Page 19284]]

applicable. The exemption-level tests shall be applied as outlined 
below.
    (1) For quarterly report forms, as to the assets test reports are 
required beginning with the quarter in which total assets exceed the 
exemption level; as to the test for sales (revenues) and net income 
after income taxes, reports are required for each quarter of a year in 
which the annual amount of these items exceeds or can be expected to 
exceed, the exemption level. Quarterly reports for a year may be 
required retroactively when it is determined that the exemption level 
has been exceeded.
    (2) For report forms requesting annual data after the close of the 
year in question, the test shall be whether any one of the three items 
exceeded the exemption level during that year.
    If total assets, sales or net income exceed the exemption level in 
a given year, it is deemed that the exemption level will also be 
exceeded in the following year.
    The number and title of each report form, its exemption level, and 
other reporting criteria, if any, pertaining to it, are given below.
* * * * *
    (f) Annual report forms. (1) [Reserved.]
    (2) [Reserved.]
    (3) BE-11--Annual Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: A 
report, consisting of Form BE-11A and Form(s) BE-11B, BE-11C, BE-11D 
and/or BE-11E, is required of each U.S. Reporter that, at the end of 
the Reporter's fiscal year, had a foreign affiliate reportable on Form 
BE-11B, BE-11C, BE-11D or BE-11E. Forms required and the criteria for 
reporting on each are as follows:
    (i) Form BE-11A (Report for U.S. Reporter) must be filed by each 
U.S. person having a foreign affiliate reportable on Form BE-11B, BE-
11C, BE-11D or BE-11E. If the U.S. Reporter is a corporation, Form BE-
11A is required to cover the fully consolidated U.S. domestic business 
enterprise.
    (A) If for a U.S. Reporter any one of the following three items--
total assets, sales or gross operating revenues excluding sales taxes, 
or net income after provision for U.S. income taxes--was greater than 
$300 million (positive or negative) at the end of, or for, the 
Reporter's fiscal year, the U.S. Reporter must file a complete Form BE-
11A. It must also file a Form BE-11B, BE-11C, BE-11D or BE-11E, as 
applicable, for each nonexempt foreign affiliate.
    (B) If for a U.S. Reporter no one of the three items listed in 
paragraph (f)(3)(i)(A) of this section was greater than $300 million 
(positive or negative) at the end of, or for, the Reporter's fiscal 
year, the U.S. Reporter is required to file on Form BE-11A only items 1 
through 26 and Part IV. It must also file a Form BE-11B, BE-11C, BE-
11D, or BE-11E as applicable, for each nonexempt foreign affiliate.
    (ii) Forms BE-11B, BE-11C, BE-11D, and BE-11E (Report for Foreign 
Affiliate).
    (A) Form BE-11B must be reported for each majority-owned foreign 
affiliate, whether held directly or indirectly, for which any one of 
the following three items--total assets, sales or gross operating 
revenues excluding sales taxes, or net income after provision for 
foreign income taxes--was greater than $60 million (positive or 
negative) at the end of, or for, the affiliate's fiscal year, unless 
the foreign affiliate is selected to be reported on Form BE-11E.
    (B) Form BE-11C must be reported for each minority-owned foreign 
affiliate, whether held directly or indirectly, for which any one of 
the three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) of this section was 
greater than $60 million (positive or negative) at the end of, or for, 
the affiliate's fiscal year.
    (C) Form BE-11D must be reported for each majority- and minority-
owned foreign affiliate, whether held directly or indirectly, 
established or acquired during the year for which any one of the three 
items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) of this section was greater 
than $25 million (positive or negative), but for which no one of these 
items was greater than $60 million (positive or negative), at the end 
of, or for, the affiliate's fiscal year. Form BE-11D is a schedule; a 
U.S. Reporter would submit one or more pages of the form depending on 
the number of affiliates that are required to be filed on this form.
    (D) Form BE-11E must be reported for each foreign affiliate that is 
selected by BEA to be reported on this form in lieu of Form BE-11B. BEA 
statistically divides into panels, affiliates for which any one of the 
three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) of this section was 
greater than $60 million (positive or negative), but for which no one 
of these items was greater than $300 million (positive or negative), at 
the end of, or for, the affiliate's fiscal year. At the direction of 
BEA, U.S. Reporters would alternate reporting these affiliates on Form 
BE-11B and Form BE-11E.
    (iii) Based on the preceding, an affiliate is exempt from being 
reported if none of the three items listed in paragraph (f)(3)(ii)(A) 
of this section exceeds $60 million (positive or negative). However, 
affiliates that were established or acquired during the year and for 
which at least one of the items was greater than $25 million but not 
over $60 million must be listed, and key items reported, on schedule-
type Form BE-11D.
    (iv) Notwithstanding paragraph (f)(3)(iii) of this section, a Form 
BE-11B, BE-11C, or BE-11E must be filed for a foreign affiliate of the 
U.S. Reporter that owns another non-exempt foreign affiliate of that 
U.S. Reporter, even if the foreign affiliate parent is otherwise 
exempt. That is, all affiliates upward in the chain of ownership must 
be reported.
* * * * *
    (g) Other report forms. (1) [Reserved.]
    (2) BE-10-Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: 
Section 4(b) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103) provides that a comprehensive 
benchmark survey of U.S. direct investment abroad will be conducted in 
1982, 1989, and every fifth year thereafter. Exemption levels, specific 
requirements for, and the year of coverage of, a given BE-10 survey may 
be found in Sec.  806.16.
* * * * *
    3. Section 806.15(j) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  806.15  Foreign direct investment in the United States.

* * * * *
    (j) Other report forms. (1) [Reserved.]
    (2) BE-12--Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the 
United States: Section 4b of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103) provides that a 
comprehensive benchmark survey of foreign direct investment in the 
United States shall be conducted in 1980, 1987, and every fifth year 
thereafter. The survey is referred to as the ``BE-12.'' Exemption 
levels, specific requirements for, and the year of coverage of, a given 
BE-12 Survey may be found in Sec.  806.17.
* * * * *
    4. Section 806.18(b) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  806.18  OMB control numbers assigned to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act.

* * * * *
    (b) Display.

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                                                             Current OMB
       15 CFR section where identified and described         Control No.
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806.1 through 806.17......................................     0608-0004
                                                                    0009
                                                                    0034
                                                                    0042
                                                                    0049
                                                                    0053
 
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[FR Doc. 2011-7769 Filed 4-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P