[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 86 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35776-35778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09482]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Direct Investment Surveys: BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. 
Direct Investment Abroad

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before July 1, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Kirsten Brew, Chief, Multinational Operations Branch, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, by email to 
[email protected] and [email protected]. Please reference OMB 
Control Number 0608-0049 in the subject line of your comments. Do not 
submit Confidential

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Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Kirsten Brew, Chief, Multinational Operations Branch, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce; by mail at 4600 Silver 
Hill Rd, Suitland, MD 20746 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad (BE- 10) 
obtains data on the financial structure and operations of U.S. parents 
and their foreign affiliates. The data are needed to provide reliable, 
useful, and timely measures of U.S. direct investment abroad, measure 
changes in such investment, and assess its impact on the U.S. and 
foreign economies. Such data are generally found in enterprise-level 
accounting records of respondent companies. The benchmark data provide 
a baseline for subsequent sample-based estimates in non-benchmark 
years. In particular, they serve as benchmarks for the quarterly direct 
investment estimates included in the U.S. international transactions, 
international investment position, and national income and product 
accounts, and for annual estimates of the U.S. direct investment abroad 
position and of the activities of U.S. multinational enterprises. The 
data collected include balance sheets; income statements; property, 
plant, and equipment; employment and employee compensation; merchandise 
trade; sales of goods and services; taxes; and research and development 
activity.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) proposes the following 
changes:
    Data items to be added:
    Employment--A question will be added to the Employment section of 
the BE-10A form to collect data on employees who are on the payroll of 
the U.S. company but live overseas on a permanent basis. This would 
include full and part-time employees that work for a foreign affiliate 
but are paid by the U.S. parent company, and those employees that were 
hired, or moved, abroad to fill a remote-work position offered by the 
U.S. parent.
    Equity investment--A question will be added to the Assets section 
of the BE-10C form to collect equity investment in other foreign 
affiliates, consistent with the BE-10B form.
    Data items to be modified:
    Supplement A--Will be modified on the BE-10B and C forms to offer 
more options for the reasons the foreign business enterprises changed 
since last reported, such as options for ``acquired'' or 
``established'' if it is a ``new'' enterprise, and to identify the date 
of the transaction for new enterprises.
    Advertising--Question 109 which collects advertising sales data on 
the BE-10B form will be expanded to capture additional sales detail by 
affiliated and unaffiliated customer.
    Digital economy--Questions on services provided via digital 
intermediation platforms collected on the BE-10A (items 60-62) and BE-
10B (item 108), and questions on digital delivery and digital ordering 
collected on the BE-10A (items 63-65) and BE-10B forms (items 110-112) 
will be modified to more accurately reflect terminology used by BEA 
survey respondents, and to reflect updates to the definitions of 
digitally ordered and delivered in the Handbook on Measuring Digital 
Trade (second edition) jointly authored by the International Monetary 
Fund, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the 
World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Conference on Trade 
and Development.

II. Method of Collection

    This survey is a benchmark survey, or census. The potential 
respondent universe for the 2024 Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct 
Investment Abroad, BE-10, consists of all U.S. persons (in the broad 
legal sense, including companies) that own 10 percent or more of the 
voting securities of an incorporated foreign business enterprise, or an 
equivalent interest in an unincorporated foreign business enterprise. 
Persons subject to the reporting requirements of the BE-10, Benchmark 
Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad, would be required to respond, 
whether or not they are contacted by BEA.
    BEA will provide respondents with advance notice of the survey by 
mailing them an announcement of the upcoming survey as soon as possible 
after the survey has been approved by OMB. Later, in March, respondents 
will receive notification by mail of their obligation to file; 
responses covering a reporting company's fiscal year ending during the 
previous calendar year are due by May 31.
    BEA offers electronic filing through its eFile system for use in 
reporting on the BE-10 annual survey forms. In addition, BEA posts all 
its survey forms and reporting instructions on its website 
(www.bea.gov/dia). These may be downloaded, completed, printed, and 
submitted via fax or mail.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0608-0049.
    Form Number: BE-10.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 29,000 respondents (U.S. parents). 
A complete response includes a BE-10 A form for the U.S. parent's 
domestic operation and one or more BE-11 B, C, or D forms for its 
foreign affiliates that meet the BE-11 survey requirements. BEA 
estimates that U.S. parents will submit 29,000 A forms, 20,100 B forms, 
15,500 C forms, 29,000 D forms, and 1,700 Claim for Exemption forms.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 842,700 hours. Total annual 
burden is calculated by multiplying the estimated number of submissions 
of each form by the average hourly burden per form, which is 11 hours 
for the A form, 19 hours for the B form, 6 hours for the C form, 2 
hours for the D form, and .5 hours for the Claim for Not Filing form.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 29 hours per respondent (842,700 
hours/29,000 U.S. parents) is the average but may vary considerably 
among respondents because of differences in company structure, 
complexity, and the number of foreign affiliates each U.S. parent must 
report.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act (P.L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department of 
Commerce/Bureau of Economic Analysis to: (a) Evaluate whether the 
proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions 
of the Department, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the 
time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to 
respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before

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including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-09482 Filed 5-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P