[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 15, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36091-36096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12796]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 220608-0131]
RIN 0691-AA91


International Services Surveys: Renewal of and Changes to BE-120 
Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and Intellectual 
Property With Foreign Persons, and Clarifying When BE-140 and BE-180 
Benchmark Surveys Are Conducted

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend regulations of the Department 
of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to renew reporting 
requirements for the BE-120 Benchmark Survey of Transactions in 
Selected Services and Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons. This 
proposed rule would also amend the regulations for BEA's two other 
international services benchmark surveys, the BE-140 Benchmark Survey 
of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign 
Persons and the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services 
Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign 
Persons, to clarify when the surveys will be conducted.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before August 15, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, identified by RIN 0691-AA91, and 
referencing the agency name (Bureau of Economic Analysis), by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. For Keyword or ID, 
enter ``EAB-2022-0002.''
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch 
(BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd., Washington, DC 
20233.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services 
Surveys Branch (BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd., 
Suitland, MD 20746.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the 
proposed rule should be sent to both BEA through any of the methods 
above and to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by submitting 
comments at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review'' or by 
using the search function and entering the title of the collection.
    Public Inspection: All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov 
without change. Personal identifying information voluntarily submitted 
by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential 
business information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. 
BEA will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Stein, Chief, Services 
Surveys Branch (BE-50), Balance of Payments Division, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Rd., 
Washington, DC 20233; email [email protected] or phone (301) 
278-9189.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BE-120 Benchmark Survey of Transactions 
in Selected Services and Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons is 
a

[[Page 36092]]

mandatory survey and is conducted once every five years by BEA under 
the authority of the International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101-3108). The data reported to BEA through this 
survey are confidential and may be used only for analytical and 
statistical purposes. A response is required from persons subject to 
the reporting requirements of the BE-120, whether or not they are 
contacted by BEA.
    The BE-120 benchmark survey covers the universe of selected 
services and intellectual property transactions of U.S. companies with 
foreign persons and is BEA's most comprehensive survey of such 
transactions. The data collected through the BE-120 are needed to 
monitor U.S. trade in services and intellectual property, to analyze 
the impact of U.S. trade in these services on the U.S. economy and on 
foreign economies, to compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, 
to support U.S. commercial policy on trade in services, to conduct 
trade promotion activities, and to improve the ability of U.S. 
businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities. The benchmark 
data will be used, in conjunction with data collected from a sample of 
respondents on the companion BE-125 Quarterly Survey of Transactions in 
Selected Services and Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons, to 
produce quarterly estimates of selected services and intellectual 
property components for BEA's international transactions accounts, 
national income and product accounts, and industry accounts.

Description of Changes

    The proposed changes to the BE-120 survey include changes in data 
items collected and the design of the survey form. BEA proposes to add 
three items to the survey. The changes are proposed in response to 
suggestions from data users and to allow BEA to more closely align its 
statistics with international guidelines and publish more information 
on U.S. trade in services. The following items would be added to the 
BE-120 benchmark survey:
    (1) Questions to collect information on the largest U.S. states (up 
to three) for sales (exports) and purchases (imports) of services. 
Respondents that meet the thresholds ($2 million in combined sales, 
and/or $1 million in combined purchases) for filing on the mandatory 
schedules will be required to report information for up to three U.S. 
states that accounted for the largest shares of their sales and 
purchases activity. Reporters will be instructed to consider all of 
their cross-border sales and purchases of services (in aggregate for 
all transaction types and affiliation categories) and report the U.S. 
states that represented the largest share of their sales and 
(separately) their purchases. After identifying the states, reporters 
would provide an estimate of the percentage of their sales and 
purchases that were transacted from each state. Collecting information 
on the percent of total sales and purchases by state would allow BEA to 
study the feasibility of producing statistics on exports and imports of 
services by U.S. state and of estimating gross domestic product (GDP) 
by state using the expenditure approach.
    (2) Questions to collect information on digital intermediation 
platforms. BEA proposes to ask if the reporters operated a digital 
intermediation platform, and if so, the value of their digital 
intermediation sales and associated transaction categories. All BE-120 
respondents that meet the thresholds for filing on the mandatory 
schedules would be required to respond to these questions. Survey 
instructions and definitions will be modified to ensure fees and 
commissions for sales and purchases made through digital intermediation 
platforms are reported in the correct transaction categories. The 
collection of information on digital intermediation services would 
allow BEA to develop estimates of the value of digitally intermediated 
trade in services.
    (3) Question on employment size class. To provide information on 
the distribution of international trade in services by business size, 
BEA proposes to add a question asking for the employment size class of 
the consolidated U.S. company. The question would ask all respondents 
to check a box indicating their employment size class: Very small (0-
250), Small (251-500), Medium (501-1,000), Large (1,001-10,000), Very 
large (>10,000). Data users have expressed interest in data on the 
number of U.S. small businesses engaged in services trade and the value 
of their services trade. Collecting this information would allow BEA to 
aggregate data on small businesses filing the survey by type of service 
and industry, which data users can use to conduct targeted outreach and 
promotion efforts in support of small businesses.
    Additionally, BEA proposes to modify the remote services schedules 
(Schedules D and E) to better capture trade in digitally delivered 
services. Survey instructions will direct reporters to provide an 
estimate of the percentage of services that were digitally delivered 
from the U.S. Reporter's domestic offices and provided to the purchaser 
located abroad via a computer network (via the internet, mobile device, 
extranet, or other comparable online system). Services provided via 
manually typed email, telephone, or fax will be excluded. The 
percentage reported should reflect all interactions with the customer, 
not just the delivery of the final product.
    BEA also proposes to delete the following two items from the BE-120 
benchmark survey:
    (1) Transaction categories for ``Other intellectual property'' 
would be eliminated. Rights to use other intellectual property (code 
8.1), rights to reproduce and/or distribute other intellectual property 
(code 8.2), and outright sales or purchases of proprietary rights 
related to other intellectual property (code 8.3) would no longer be 
collected. BEA typically reclassifies transactions reported to BEA in 
these categories to research and development (R&D) services 
(transaction code 29.1, the provision of customized and non-customized 
R&D services; and, transaction code 29.2, other R&D services, including 
testing) and to other selected services (transaction code 42). This 
proposed deletion is consistent with modifications implemented on the 
BE-125 quarterly survey beginning with reporting for the first quarter 
of 2022.
    (2) Questions on ``Contract manufacturing services'' would be 
eliminated. On the 2017 BE-120 survey, in addition to collecting 
contract manufacturing services as a stand-alone transaction category 
in Table 1 and on the mandatory schedules, BEA incorporated additional 
questions related to contract manufacturing that gathered details 
regarding the material inputs, as well as the output product of the 
contract manufacturing services activity, for both sales and purchases 
activities. As a result of very limited and poor reporting of detail in 
these questions during the 2017 survey, BEA found little use for the 
information gathered and therefore proposes to eliminate collection of 
these details for the 2022 survey. Data will continue to be collected 
for contract manufacturing sales and purchases in transaction category 
35.
    BEA proposes to redesign the format and wording of the survey. The 
new survey design would incorporate improvements that have been made to 
other BEA surveys. BE-120 benchmark survey instructions and data item 
descriptions would be changed to improve clarity and ensure that the 
survey form is consistent with other BEA surveys.

[[Page 36093]]

    This proposed rule would amend 15 CFR part 801 by modifying 
Sec. Sec.  801.3 and 801.11 through 801.13 and removing Sec.  801.9 to 
clarify the timing of the three international services benchmark 
surveys: the BE-120 Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected 
Services and Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons, the BE-140 
Benchmark Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies 
with Foreign Persons, and the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial 
Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and 
Foreign Persons. The next BE-120 survey will apply to the 2022 fiscal 
reporting year, and will be conducted once every five years thereafter, 
for reporting years ending in 2 and 7. Additionally, the next BE-140 
survey and BE-180 survey will be collected for the 2023 and 2024 
reporting years, respectively, and will continue to be conducted every 
five years thereafter. The BE-140 will be collected for reporting years 
ending in 3 and 8, and the BE-140 will be collected for reporting years 
ending in 4 and 9. See the most recent versions of the BE-120, BE-140, 
and BE-180 benchmark surveys at www.bea.gov for a more detailed 
description of covered transactions and definitions.
    Each time a benchmark survey is to be conducted, BEA will describe 
any proposed changes to the information collected through the survey 
(including the addition, deletion, and/or modification of existing 
questions and definitions) in a public notice and will solicit comments 
as part of the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Any 
changes to reporting requirements or significant expansions in scope of 
the surveys would be conducted by rulemaking.

Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Executive Order 13132

    This proposed rule does not contain policies with federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
assessment under Executive Order 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520 
(PRA). The proposed requirement will be submitted to OMB for approval 
as a reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection 
under OMB control number 0608-0058, for which approval has expired. 
Surveys were collected for the 2017 BE-120 in calendar years 2018 and 
2019. No survey submissions were solicited by BEA after the expiration 
and discontinuance of the collection in June of 2021.
    The BE-120 survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the filing 
of reports from approximately 15,000 respondents. Approximately 11,000 
respondents would complete the survey, and approximately 4,000 would 
file exemption claims. The respondent burden for this collection of 
information would vary from one respondent to another, but is estimated 
to average (1) 24 hours for the 5,000 respondents that report data by 
transaction type, country, and affiliation; (2) 4 hours for the 6,000 
respondents that report data by transaction type only; and (3) 1 hour 
for the 4,000 that file an exemption claim. These burden-hour estimates 
consider time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection of information. Thus, the total respondent 
burden for this survey is estimated at 148,000 hours, or approximately 
10 hours per response (148,000 hours/15,000 respondents), compared to 
145,000 hours, or about 9.5 hours per response (145,000 hours/15,500 
respondents) for the 2017 BE-120 benchmark survey. The increase in 
burden hours is due to estimated changes in the expected quantity of 
survey responses, the composition of the respondent universe (those 
filing full schedule detail vs. totals by transaction type only) from 
2017 to 2022, as well as modifications to the content of the survey for 
those filing schedule detail.
    As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, the Department of Commerce invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information 
collections, as required by the PRA. Comments are requested concerning: 
(a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the 
proposed rule should be sent to both BEA and OMB following the 
instructions given in the ADDRESSES section above. Notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall 
any 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.

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. The changes proposed in this rule are discussed in the 
preamble and are not repeated here.
    A BE-120 report would be required of any U.S. company that had 
services transactions with foreign persons in any of the covered types 
of selected services and/or intellectual property. While BEA does not 
have information on the size of the respondents to the survey, 
historically the respondents to the existing quarterly survey of 
transactions in selected services and intellectual property and to the 
previous benchmark surveys were mostly major U.S. corporations. For 
U.S. companies that had combined sales exceeding $2 million, and/or 
combined purchases transactions exceeding $1 million in the transaction 
categories covered by the survey for the fiscal year, a completed 
benchmark survey would include data on each of the covered types of 
services and/or intellectual property transactions with totals 
disaggregated by country and by relationship to the foreign transactor 
(foreign affiliate, foreign parent group, or unaffiliated). For U.S. 
companies that had combined sales of $2 million or less and combined 
purchases transactions of $1 million or less in the transaction 
categories covered by the survey for the fiscal year, a completed 
benchmark would include totals for each type of transaction in which 
they engaged. This abbreviated benchmark requirement would exclude most 
small businesses from mandatory reporting of detail by country and by 
affiliation. Any small businesses that would be required to report 
would likely have engaged in a small number of covered transactions and 
would be less likely to report detail

[[Page 36094]]

by country and affiliation, and, therefore, would be expected to have 
below the average burden of 10 hours per response. Therefore, this 
proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities, and thus an Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis is not required, and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

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

    Dated: June 8, 2022.
Paul W. Farello,
Associate Director of International Economics, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis.

    For reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 CFR 
part 801 as follows:

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

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; 
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. Amend Sec.  801.3 by revising the introductory text to read as 
follows:


Sec.  801.3   Reporting requirements.

    Except for surveys subject to rulemaking in Sec. Sec.  801.7, 
801.8, 801.10, 801.11, 801.12, and 801.13, reporting requirements for 
all other surveys conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis shall be 
as follows:
* * * * *


Sec.  801.9   [Removed and Reserved]

0
3. Section 801.9 is removed and reserved.
0
4. Revise Sec.  801.11 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.11   Rules and regulations for the BE-120 Benchmark Survey of 
Transactions in Selected Services and Intellectual Property with 
Foreign Persons.

    The BE-120 Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected Services 
and Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons will be conducted once 
every five years and covers years ending in 2 and 7. BEA will describe 
the proposed information collection in a public notice and will solicit 
comments according to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).
    All legal authorities, provisions, definitions, and requirements 
contained in Sec. Sec.  801.1 through 801.2 and Sec. Sec.  801.4 
through 801.6 are applicable to this survey. Specific additional rules 
and regulations for the BE-120 survey are given in this section. More 
detailed instructions are given on the report form and in instructions 
accompanying the report form.
    (a) Response required. A response is required, every fifth year, 
from persons subject to the reporting requirements of the BE-120 
Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and Intellectual 
Property with Foreign Persons, contained in this section, whether or 
not they are contacted by BEA. Also, a person, or its agent, that is 
contacted by BEA about reporting on this survey, either by sending a 
report form or by written inquiry, must respond in writing pursuant to 
this section. This may be accomplished by:
    (1) Completing and returning the BE-120 by the due date of the 
survey; or
    (2) If exempt, by completing the determination of reporting status 
section of the BE-120 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of 
the survey.
    (b) Who must report. A BE-120 report is required of each U.S. 
person that had transactions with foreign persons in the categories 
covered by the survey during the fiscal year covered by the survey.
    (c) What must be reported. (1) A U.S. person that had combined 
sales to foreign persons that exceeded $2 million, and/or combined 
purchases from foreign persons that exceeded $1 million in the services 
and intellectual property categories covered by the survey during its 
fiscal year, on an accrual basis, is required to provide data on total 
sales and/or purchases of each of the covered types of transactions and 
must disaggregate the totals by country and by relationship to the 
foreign transactor (foreign affiliate, foreign parent group, or 
unaffiliated). The $2 million threshold for sales and the $1 million 
threshold for purchases should be applied to the covered transactions 
categories with foreign persons by all parts of the consolidated 
domestic U.S. Reporter. Because the $2 million and $1 million 
thresholds apply separately to sales and purchases, the mandatory 
reporting requirement may apply to sales only, to purchases only, or to 
both. The determination of whether a U.S. services provider is subject 
to this reporting requirement can be 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.
    (2) A U.S. person that had combined sales to foreign persons that 
were $2 million or less, and combined purchases from foreign persons 
that were $1 million or less in the transaction categories covered by 
the survey during its fiscal year, on an accrual basis, is required to 
provide the total sales and/or purchases for each type of transaction 
in which they engaged. The $2 million threshold for sales and the $1 
million threshold for purchases should be applied to the covered 
transactions categories with foreign persons by all parts of the 
consolidated domestic U.S. Reporter. Because the $2 million and $1 
million thresholds apply separately to sales and purchases, the 
mandatory reporting requirement may apply to sales only, to purchases 
only, or to both.
    (i) Voluntary reporting of transactions. If, during the reporter's 
fiscal year, combined sales were $2 million or less, and combined 
purchases were $1 million or less, on an accrual basis, the U.S. person 
may, in addition to providing the required total for each type of 
transaction, report sales at a country and affiliation level of detail 
on the applicable mandatory schedule(s). The estimates can be 
judgmental, that is, based on recall, without conducting a detailed 
records search.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) Any U.S. person that receives the BE-120 survey form from BEA, 
but is not subject to the reporting requirements, must file an 
exemption claim by completing the determination of reporting status 
section of the BE-120 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of 
the survey. This requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with 
reporting requirements and efficient administration of the Act by 
eliminating unnecessary follow-up contact.
    (d) Covered types of services and intellectual property. Services 
transactions covered by this survey consist of: Advertising and related 
services; architectural, engineering, scientific, and other technical 
services; computer services; construction; financial services (for 
reporters who are not a financial services providers); franchises and 
trademarks licensing fees; information services; legal, accounting, 
management consulting, and public relations services; licenses for the 
use of outcomes of research and development; licenses to reproduce and/
or distribute computer software; licenses to reproduce and/or 
distribute audiovisual products; maintenance and repair services; 
manufacturing services; operating leasing services; other business 
services; personal, cultural, and recreational services; research and 
development services; primary

[[Page 36095]]

insurance premiums and losses (for reporters who are not a U.S. 
insurance company); space transport services; telecommunications 
services; trade-related services; and waste treatment and de-pollution, 
agricultural, and mining services.
    (e) Types of transactions excluded from the scope of this survey. 
(1) Financial services transactions conducted by a U.S. financial 
services provider, all insurance services conducted by a U.S. insurance 
company, and all travel and transport activities that are not space 
transport services.
    (2) Sales and purchases of goods. Trade in goods involves products 
that have a physical form, and includes payments or receipts for 
electricity.
    (3) Sales and purchases of financial instruments, including stocks, 
bonds, financial derivatives, loans, mutual fund shares, and negotiable 
CDs. (However, securities brokerage is a service.)
    (4) Income on financial instruments (interest, dividends, capital 
gain distributions, etc.).
    (5) Compensation paid to, or received by, employees.
    (6) Penalties and fines and gifts or grants in the form of goods 
and cash (sometimes called ``transfers'').
    (f) Due date. A fully completed and certified BE-120 report, or 
qualifying exemption claim with the determination of reporting status 
section completed, is due to be filed with BEA by July 31 of the year 
after the year covered by the survey.
0
5. Revise Sec.  801.12 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.12   Rules and regulations for the BE-140 Benchmark Survey of 
Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign 
Persons.

    The BE-140 Benchmark Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. 
Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons will be conducted once every 
five calendar years and covers years ending in 3 and 8. BEA will 
describe the proposed information collection in a public notice and 
will solicit comments according to the requirements of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). All legal authorities, provisions, 
definitions, and requirements contained in Sec. Sec.  801.1 through 
801.2 and Sec. Sec.  801.4 through 801.6 are applicable to this survey. 
Specific additional rules and regulations for the BE-140 survey are 
given in this section. More detailed instructions are given on the 
report form and in instructions accompanying the report form.
    (a) Response required. A response is required from U.S. insurance 
companies subject to the reporting requirements of the BE-140 Benchmark 
Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with 
Foreign Persons, contained in this section, whether or not they are 
contacted by BEA. Also, a U.S. insurance company, or its agent, that is 
contacted by BEA about reporting on this survey, either by transmission 
of a report form or by written inquiry, must respond in writing 
pursuant to this section. This may be accomplished by:
    (1) Completing and returning the BE-140 by the due date of the 
survey; or
    (2) If exempt, by completing the determination of reporting status 
section of the BE-140 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of 
the survey.
    (b) Who must report. A BE-140 report is required of each U.S. 
insurance company that had insurance transactions with foreign persons 
in the categories covered by the survey during the calendar year 
covered by the survey.
    (c) What must be reported. (1) A U.S. insurance company that had 
transactions with foreign persons that exceeded $2 million in the 
insurance categories covered by the survey during its calendar year, on 
an accrual basis, is required to provide data on the total transactions 
of each of the covered types of insurance transactions and must 
disaggregate the totals by country and by relationship to the foreign 
counterparty (foreign affiliate, foreign parent group, or 
unaffiliated). The $2 million threshold should be applied to insurance 
services transactions with foreign persons by all parts of the 
consolidated domestic U.S. Reporter. The determination of whether a 
U.S. insurance company is subject to this reporting requirement may be 
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.
    (2) A U.S. insurance company that had transactions with foreign 
persons that were $2 million or less in the insurance categories 
covered by the survey during its calendar year, on an accrual basis, is 
required to provide the total for each type of transaction in which 
they engaged.
    (i) Voluntary reporting of insurance transactions. If, during the 
calendar year covered by the survey, total transactions were $2 million 
or less in the insurance categories covered by the survey, on an 
accrual basis, the U.S. insurance company may, in addition to providing 
the required total for each type of transaction, voluntarily report 
transactions at a country and affiliation level of detail on the 
applicable mandatory schedule(s).
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) Any U.S. person that receives the BE-140 survey form from BEA 
but is not subject to the reporting requirements must file an exemption 
claim by completing the determination of reporting status section of 
the BE-140 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of the 
survey. This requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with 
reporting requirements and efficient administration of the Act by 
eliminating unnecessary follow-up contact.
    (d) Covered types of insurance services. Insurance services covered 
by the BE-140 survey consist of transactions between U.S. insurance 
companies and foreign persons for premiums and losses on primary 
insurance, premiums on reinsurance assumed and ceded, losses on 
reinsurance assumed and ceded, as well as receipts and payments for 
auxiliary insurance services.
    (e) Types of transactions excluded from the scope of this survey. 
Premiums paid to, or losses received from, foreign insurance companies 
on direct insurance.
    (f) Due date. A fully completed and certified BE-140 report, or 
qualifying exemption claim with the determination of reporting status 
section completed, is due to be filed with BEA by July 31 of the year 
after the year covered by the survey.
0
6. Revise Sec.  801.13 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.13   Rules and regulations for the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of 
Financial Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services 
Providers and Foreign Persons.

    The BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions 
between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons will be 
conducted every five years and covers fiscal years ending in 4 and 9. 
BEA will describe the proposed information collection in a public 
notice and will solicit comments according to the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). All legal authorities, 
provisions, definitions, and requirements contained in Sec. Sec.  801.1 
through 801.2 and Sec. Sec.  801.4 through 801.6 are applicable to this 
survey. Specific additional rules and regulations for the BE-180 survey 
are given in this section. More detailed instructions are given on the 
report form and in instructions accompanying the report form.
    (a) Response required. A response is required from persons subject 
to the reporting requirements of the BE-180

[[Page 36096]]

Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions between U.S. 
Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons, contained in this 
section, whether or not they are contacted by BEA. Also, a person, or 
its agent, that is contacted by BEA about reporting on this survey, 
either by sending a report form or by written inquiry, must respond in 
writing pursuant to this section. This may be accomplished by:
    (1) Completing and returning the BE-180 by the due date of the 
survey; or
    (2) If exempt, completing the determination of reporting status 
section of the BE-180 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of 
the survey.
    (b) Who must report. A BE-180 report is required of each U.S. 
person that is a financial services provider or intermediary, or whose 
consolidated U.S. enterprise includes a separately organized 
subsidiary, or part, that is a financial services provider or 
intermediary, and that had financial services transactions with foreign 
persons in the categories covered by the survey during the fiscal year 
covered by the survey.
    (c) BE-180 definition of financial services provider. The 
definition of financial services provider used for this survey is 
identical to the definition of the term as used in the North American 
Industry Classification System, United States, Sector 52--Finance and 
Insurance, and holding companies that own or influence, and are 
principally engaged in making management decisions for, these firms 
(part of Sector 55--Management of Companies and Enterprises). For 
example, companies and/or subsidiaries and other separable parts of 
companies in the following industries are defined as financial services 
providers: Depository credit intermediation and related activities 
(including commercial banking, savings institutions, credit unions, and 
other depository credit intermediation); non-depository credit 
intermediation (including credit card issuing, sales financing, and 
other non-depository credit intermediation); activities related to 
credit intermediation (including mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers, 
financial transactions processing, reserve, and clearinghouse 
activities, and other activities related to credit intermediation); 
securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage 
(including investment banking and securities dealing, securities 
brokerage, commodity contracts and dealing, and commodity contracts 
brokerage); securities and commodity exchanges; other financial 
investment activities (including miscellaneous intermediation, 
portfolio management, investment advice, and all other financial 
investment activities); insurance carriers; insurance agencies, 
brokerages, and other insurance related activities; insurance and 
employee benefit funds (including pension funds, health and welfare 
funds, and other insurance funds); other investment pools and funds 
(including open-end investment funds, trusts, estates, and agency 
accounts, real estate investment trusts, and other financial vehicles); 
and holding companies that own, or influence the management decisions 
of, firms principally engaged in the aforementioned activities.
    (d) What must be reported. (1) A U.S. person that had combined 
sales to, or purchases from foreign persons that exceeded $3 million in 
the financial services categories covered by the survey during its 
fiscal year, on an accrual basis, is required to provide data on total 
sales and/or purchases of each of the covered types of financial 
services and must disaggregate the totals by country and by 
relationship to the foreign transactor (foreign affiliate, foreign 
parent group, or unaffiliated). The $3 million threshold for sales and 
purchases should be applied to financial services transactions with 
foreign persons by all parts of the consolidated domestic U.S. 
Reporter. Because the $3 million threshold applies separately to sales 
and purchases, the mandatory reporting requirement may apply to sales 
only, to purchases only, or to both. The determination of whether a 
U.S. financial services provider is subject to this reporting 
requirement can be 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.
    (2) A U.S. person that had combined sales to, or purchases from 
foreign persons that were $3 million or less in the financial services 
categories covered by the survey during its fiscal year, on an accrual 
basis, is required to provide the total sales and/or purchases for each 
type of transaction in which they engaged. The $3 million threshold for 
sales and purchases should be applied to financial services 
transactions with foreign persons by all parts of the consolidated 
domestic U.S. Reporter. Because the $3 million threshold applies 
separately to sales and purchases, the mandatory reporting requirement 
may apply to sales only, to purchases only, or to both.
    (e) Voluntary reporting of financial services transactions. If, 
during the fiscal year, combined sales and purchases were $3 million or 
less, on an accrual basis, the U.S. person may, in addition to 
providing the required total for each type of transaction, report sales 
at a country and affiliation level of detail on the applicable 
mandatory schedule(s). The estimates can be judgmental, that is, based 
on recall, without conducting a detailed records search.
    (f) Exemption claims. Any U.S. person that receives the BE-180 
survey form from BEA, but is not subject to the reporting requirements, 
must file an exemption claim by completing the determination of 
reporting status section of the BE-180 survey and returning it to BEA 
by the due date of the survey. This requirement is necessary to ensure 
compliance with reporting requirements and efficient administration of 
the Act by eliminating unnecessary follow-up contact.
    (g) Covered types of financial services. Financial services covered 
by the BE-180 survey consist of transactions between U.S. financial 
services companies and foreign persons for brokerage, underwriting, 
financial management, credit-related, credit-cards, financial advisory, 
financial custody, securities lending, electronic funds transfers, and 
other financial services.
    (h) Due date. A fully completed and certified BE-180 report, or 
qualifying exemption claim with the determination of reporting status 
section completed, is due to be filed with BEA by July 31 of the year 
after the year covered by the survey.

[FR Doc. 2022-12796 Filed 6-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P