DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance, the following proposal for an extension of a currently approved collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
Agency: Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Title: Survey of Foreign Ocean Carriers' Expenses in the United States.
Form Number(s): BE-29.
Agency Approval Number: 0608-0012.
Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Burden: 652 hours.
Number of Respondents: 163.
Avg Hours Per Response: 4 hours.
Needs and Uses: The Bureau of Economic Analysis is responsible for the compilation of the U.S. balance of payments accounts. The information collected in this survey is an integral part of the “transportation” portion of the U.S. balance of payments accounts. The balance of payments accounts, which are published quarterly in the Bureau's monthly publication, the Survey of Current Business, are one of the major statistical products of BEA. The accounts provide a statistical summary of U.S. international transactions and are used by government and private organizations for national and international policy formulation, and analytical studies.
The information collected is also used for compiling the U.S. national income and product accounts, and for reporting to international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund. Without the information collected in this survey, annual data needed for estimating an integral component of the transportation account would be unavailable. No other Government agency collects comprehensive annual data on foreign ocean carriers' expenses in the United States.
The survey requests information from U.S. agents of foreign ocean carriers. Information is collected on an annual basis from U.S. agents that handle 40 or more port calls by foreign vessels and have annual total covered expenses of $250,000 or more. U.S. agents with less than 40 port calls or with annual total covered expenses below $250,000 are exempt from reporting.
Affected Public: U.S. agents of foreign ocean carriers.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: The International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108.
OMB Desk Officer: Paul Bugg, (202) 395-3093.
Copies of the above extension of a currently approved collection can be obtained by calling or writing Diane Hynek, DOC Forms Clearance Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
Written comments and recommendations in response to this extension of a currently approved collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to Paul Bugg, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10201, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503; fax: 202-395-7245; e-mail: pbugg@omb.eop.gov.
Dated: December 22, 2003.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-529 Filed 1-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P