Agency Information Collection Activities: Free Trade Agreements

AGENCY:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION:

30-Day notice and request for comments; extension of an existing collection of information.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The information collection is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.

DATES:

Comments are encouraged and will be accepted (no later than September 10, 2018) to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on this proposed information collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the OMB Desk Officer for Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, and sent via electronic mail to dhsdeskofficer@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional PRA information should be directed to Seth Renkema, Chief, Economic Impact Analysis Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings, 90 K Street NE, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20229-1177, Telephone number (202) 325-0056 or via email CBP_PRA@cbp.dhs.gov. Please note that the contact information provided here is solely for questions regarding this notice. Individuals seeking information about other CBP programs should contact the CBP National Customer Service Center at 877-227-5511, (TTY) 1-800-877-8339, or CBP website at https://www.cbp.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

CBP invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the proposed and/or continuing information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register (83 FR 18581) on April 27, 2018, allowing for a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8. Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies should address one or more of the following four points: (1) 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; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) suggestions to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) suggestions to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. The comments that are submitted will be summarized and included in the request for approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.

Overview of This Information Collection

Title: Free Trade agreements.

OMB Number: 1651-0117.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Extension (without change).

Current Actions: CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours or to the information collected.

Affected Public: Businesses.

Abstract: Free trade agreements are established to reduce and eliminate trade barriers, strengthen and develop economic relations, and to lay the foundation for further cooperation to expand and enhance benefits of the agreement. These agreements establish free trade by reduced-duty treatment on imported goods.

The U.S. has entered into the following Free Trade Agreements: United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (US-CFTA) (Pub. L. 108-77); the Republic of Singapore (Pub. L. 108-78, 117 Stat. 948,19 U.S.C. 3805 note); Australia (Pub. L. 108-286); Morocco (Pub. L. 108-302); Jordan (Pub. L. 107-43); Bahrain (Pub. L. 109-169); Oman (Pub. L. 109-283); Peru (Pub. L. 110-138, 121 Stat. 1455); Korea (Pub. L. 112-41); Colombia (Pub. L. 112-42, 125 Stat. 462); Panama (Pub. L. 112-43); and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (CAFTA-DR) (Pub. L. 109-53, 119 Stat. 462).

These free trade agreements involve collection of data elements such as information about the importer and exporter of the goods, a description of the goods, tariff classification number, and the preference criterion in the Rules of Origin.

Respondents can obtain information on how to make claims under these Free Trade Agreements by going to http://www.cbp.gov/trade/free-trade-agreements and use a standard fillable format for the FTA submission by going to http://www.cbp.gov/document/guides/certification-origin-template.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 359,400.

Estimated Number of Total Annual Responses: 361,000.

Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 722,000.