[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 50 (Friday, March 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14631-14632]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05192]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


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.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Automated Export System.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0152.
    Form Number(s): Automated Export System (AES).
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 287,314 firms filing 17,315,950 AES 
transactions annually.
    Average Hours per Response: 3 minutes per AES transaction.
    Burden Hours: 865,798.
    Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau requires mandatory filing of all 
export information via the AES. This requirement is mandated through 
Public Law 107-228 of the Foreign Trade Relations Act of 2003. This law 
authorizes the Secretary of Commerce with the concurrences of the 
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to require 
all persons who file export information according to Title 13, United 
States Code (U.S.C.), Chapter 9, to file such information through the 
AES.
    The AES is the primary instrument used for collecting export trade 
data, which are used by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes. The 
AES record provides the means for collecting data on U.S. exports. 
Title 13, U.S.C., Chapter 9, Sections 301-307, mandates the collection 
of these data. The regulatory provisions for the collection of these 
data are contained in the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), Title 15, 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 30. The official export 
statistics collected from these tools provide the basic component for 
the compilation of the U.S. position on merchandise trade. These data 
are an essential component of the monthly totals provided in the U.S. 
International Trade in Goods and Services (FT-900) Press Release, a 
principal economic indicator and a primary component of the Gross 
Domestic Product. The published export data enable U.S. businesses to 
develop practical marketing strategies as well as provide a means to 
assess the impact of exports on the domestic economy. These data are 
used in the development of U.S. government economic and foreign trade 
policies, including export control purposes under Title 50, U.S.C., 
Export Administration Act. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other enforcement 
agencies use these data to detect and prevent the export of certain 
items by unauthorized parties to unauthorized destinations or end 
users. This information is noted in the ACE AESDirect User Guide.
    In order to publish accurate export trade statistics, the Census 
Bureau is responsible for maintaining the Foreign Trade Regulations 
(FTR), which implement the provisions for reporting the Electronic 
Export Information (EEI) in the AES. In addition to the publication of 
the FT-900, the Census Bureau releases data on imports of steel mill 
products in advance of the regular monthly trade statistics release. 
This exception to the normal procedure was initially approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in January 1999 and has been 
subsequently extended annually through means of a separately submitted 
memo. This exception has permitted the public release of preliminary 
monthly data on imports of steel under the provisions of the OMB's 
Statistical Policy Directive No. 3 on the Compilation, Release and 
Evaluation of Principal Federal Economic Indicators. With this planned 
revision to the AES Program, the Census Bureau requests that provisions 
for the early release of preliminary steel mill import statistics be 
included in the clearance, thereby eliminating the need for a separate 
annual re-approval from OMB for the early release. See Attachment F for 
the Preliminary Report on U.S. Imports for Consumption of Steel 
Products.
    Currently, the Census Bureau is drafting a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) to clarify the responsibilities of parties 
participating in routed and standard export transactions. The draft 
rule has received concurrence from the U.S. Department of State (State 
Department) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Though 
concurrence was received from State Department and DHS, it is important 
to note that the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and 
Security (BIS) administers the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) 
that also govern routed export transactions. BIS has also drafted a 
NPRM to revise the EAR as it pertains to routed export transactions. 
Both rules have required extensive review and coordination with each 
agency to ensure that there are no discrepancies or contradictory 
language in either NPRM. The Census Bureau is working with BIS to 
receive concurrence in order to publish the NPRM. The goal is to 
publish both NPRMs around the same time in order to allow the trade 
community an opportunity to review the proposed requirements as they 
relate to both filing and licensing responsibilities in a routed export 
transaction.
    The draft rule also proposes to revise and add several key terms 
used in the regulatory provision of these transactions, including 
authorized agent, forwarding agent, standard export transaction and 
written release. While revisions to the FTR are necessary to improve 
clarity to the filing requirements for the routed export transaction, 
it is critical for the Census Bureau to ensure that any revisions made 
to the FTR will allow for the continued collection and compilation of 
complete, accurate and timely trade statistics. Additionally, it is 
important that the responsibilities of the U.S. Principal Party in 
Interest (USPPI) and the U.S. authorized agent are clearly defined to 
ensure that the EEI is filed by the appropriate party to prevent 
receiving duplicate filings or in some cases, no filings. The changes 
proposed in the NPRM will not have an impact on the reporting burden of 
the export trade community.
    The information collected via the AES conveys what is being 
exported (description and commodity classification number), how much is 
exported (quantity, shipping weight, and value), how it is exported 
(mode of transport, exporting carrier, and whether containerized), from 
where (state of origin and port of export), to where (port of unloading 
and country of ultimate destination), and when a commodity is exported 
(date of exportation). The identification of the USPPI shows who is 
exporting goods. The USPPI and/or the forwarding or other agent 
information provides a

[[Page 14632]]

contact for verification of the information.
    The information collected via the AES is used by the U.S. Federal 
Government and the private sector. The data collected from the AES 
serves as the official record of export transactions. The mandatory use 
of the AES enables the Federal Government to produce more complete, 
accurate and timely export statistics. The Census Bureau delegated the 
authority to enforce the FTR to the BIS's Office of Export Enforcement 
along with the DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and 
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The mandatory use of the AES 
also facilitates the enforcement of the EAR for the detection and 
prevention of exports of national security sensitive commodities to 
unauthorized destinations by the BIS and the CBP; the International 
Traffic in Arms Regulations by the U.S. Department of State for the 
exports of defense articles; the validation of the Kimberly Process 
Certificate for the exports of rough diamonds; and regulations 
pertaining to other federal agencies export requirements. (i.e. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Drug Enforcement Agency, etc.)
    Other Federal agencies use these data to develop the components of 
the merchandise trade figures used in the calculations for the balance 
of payments and Gross Domestic Product accounts to evaluate the effects 
of the value of U.S. exports; to plan and examine export promotion 
programs and agricultural development and assistance programs; and to 
prepare for and assist in trade negotiations under the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Collection of these data also 
eliminates the need for conducting additional surveys for the 
collection of information as the AES shows the relationship of the 
parties to the export transaction (as required by the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis). The Bureau of Labor Statistics also use these AES 
data as a source for developing the export price index and by the U.S. 
Department of Transportation for administering the negotiation of 
reciprocal arrangements for transportation facilities between the U.S. 
and other countries. Additionally, a collaborative effort amongst the 
Census Bureau, the National Governors' Association and other data users 
resulted in the development of export statistics requiring the state of 
origin to be reported on the AES. This information enables state 
governments to focus activities and resources on fostering the exports 
of goods that originate in their states.
    Export statistics collected from the AES aid private sector 
companies, financial institutions, and transportation entities in 
conducting market analysis and market penetration studies for the 
development of new markets and market-share strategies. Port 
authorities, steamship lines, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and air 
transport associations use these data for measuring the volume and 
effect of air or vessel shipments and the need for additional or new 
types of facilities.
    The International Trade Administration relies heavily on the 
preliminary import statistics of steel mill products provided by the 
Census Bureau. In 1999, as a part of the federal government's steel 
initiative, the Department of Commerce was instructed by the White 
House administration to monitor steel imports so that industry could 
monitor trends and take appropriate action. Currently, the steel 
industry faces a similar situation further necessitating the 
preliminary publication of these statistics. The early release of 
preliminary statistics on steel mill imports provides the public with 
an early warning of any potential shifts in trade patterns in this 
important industry. A variety of parties, including government 
officials and the public with an interest in imports of steel products 
continue to use this monitoring system heavily.
    The importer of record or its licensed customs broker file 
electronic entry summaries through the ACE, and file paper import entry 
summaries (CBP-7501) or paper records of vessel foreign repair or 
equipment purchase (CBP-226) directly with CBP in accordance with 19 
CFR parts 1-199. The FTR, subpart F addresses the general requirements 
for filing import entries with CBP in the ACE in accordance with 19 
CFR, which is the source of the import data on steel mill products.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 United States Code, Chapter 9, Section 
301.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.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 PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-05192 Filed 3-12-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P