Notice2024-09482
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
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 2, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentEconomic Analysis Bureau
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 86 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 86 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35776-35778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#13587a616067767d3d51617664537176723d747c65"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fab19388898e9f94d4b8889f8dba989f9bd49d958c">[email protected]</span></a> and <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#09595b486a6664646c677d7a496b6c68276e667f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e6b6b4a785898b8b83889295a6848387c8818990">[email protected]</span></a>. Please reference OMB
Control Number 0608-0049 in the subject line of your comments. Do not
submit Confidential
[[Page 35777]]
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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f5be9c878681909bdbb7879082b5979094db929a83"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b1fad8c3c2c5d4df9ff3c3d4c6f1d3d4d09fd6dec7">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
(<a href="http://www.bea.gov/dia">www.bea.gov/dia</a>). 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
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