[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 34827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15657]



[[Page 34827]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: International Trade Administration, Commerce.
    Title: Domestic and International Client Export Services and 
Customized Forms.
    OMB Control Number: 0625-0143.
    Form Number(s): ITA-4096P.
    Type of Request: Renewal submission.
    Number of Respondents: 200,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 10 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 33,333 (annual).
    Needs and Uses: The International Trade Administration's (ITA) U.S. 
Commercial Service (CS) is mandated by Congress to broaden and deepen 
the U.S. exporter base. The CS accomplishes this by providing 
counseling, programs and services to help U.S. organizations export and 
conduct business in overseas markets. This information collection 
package enables the CS to provide appropriate export services to U.S. 
exporters and international buyers.
    The Commercial Service (CS) offers a variety of services to enable 
clients to begin exporting/importing or to expand existing exporting/
importing efforts. Clients may learn about our services from business 
related entities such as the National Association of Manufacturers, 
Federal Express, State Economic Development offices, the internet or 
word of mouth. The CS provides a standard set of services to assist 
clients with identifying potential overseas partners, establishing 
meeting programs with appropriate overseas business contacts and 
providing due diligence reports on potential overseas business 
partners. The CS also provides other export-related services considered 
to be of a ``customized nature'' because they do not fit into the 
standard set of CS export services, but are driven by unique business 
needs of individual clients.
    The dissemination of international market information and potential 
business opportunities for U.S. exporters are critical components of 
the Commercial Service's export assistance programs and services. U.S. 
companies conveniently access and indicate their interest in these 
services by completing the appropriate forms via ITA and CS U.S. Export 
Assistance Center websites.
    The CS works closely with clients to educate them about the 
exporting/importing process and to help prepare them for exporting/
importing. When a client is ready to begin the exporting/importing 
process our field staff provide counseling to assist in the development 
of an exporting strategy. We provide fee-based, export-related services 
designed to help client export/import. The type of export-related 
service that is proposed to a client depends upon a client's business 
goals and where they are in the export/import process. Some clients are 
at the beginning of the export process and require assistance with 
identifying potential distributors, whereas other clients may be ready 
to sign a contract with a potential distributor and require due 
diligence assistance.
    Before the CS can provide export-related services to clients, such 
as assistance with identifying potential partners or providing due 
diligence, specific information is required to determine the client's 
business objectives and needs. For example, before we can provide a 
service to identify potential business partners we need to know whether 
the client would like a potential partner to have specific technical 
qualifications, coverage in a specific market, English or foreign 
language ability or warehousing requirements. This information 
collection is designed to elicit such data so that appropriate services 
can be proposed and conducted to most effectively meet the client's 
exporting goals. Without these forms the CS is unable to provide 
services when requested by clients.
    The forms ask U.S. exporters standard questions about their company 
details, export experience, information about the products or services 
they wish to export and exporting goals. A few questions are tailored 
to a specific program type and will vary slightly with each program. CS 
staff use this information to gain an understanding of client's needs 
and objectives so that they can provide appropriate and effective 
export assistance tailored to an exporter's particular requirements.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-
for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government; and 
Federal government.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-15657 Filed 7-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-FP-P