[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