Attachment 10 - Intro letter mailed to companies at the start of initiation

OMB No. 1220-0025

IPP Intro Letter

August 28, 2023

«Mr./Ms.» «RespFirst» «RespLast»

«RespTitle»

«Company»

«Street»

«City», «State» «Zip»

Dear «Mr./Ms.» «RespLast»:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) needs your help in providing timely and accurate information about price trends for a Principal Federal Economic Indicator, the U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes (MXP).  The MXP, produced by the International Price Program (IPP), measures price changes for non-military goods and services traded between the United States and the rest of the world.  Now your firm has the opportunity to help BLS calculate the price index for «imports/exports».

International trade is an increasingly significant part of the American economy. The private and public sectors use these price indexes (MXP) for the following purposes:

Private Sector Uses	Federal Government Uses
Analyze economic conditions	Set fiscal and monetary policy
Adjust contracts	Negotiate trade agreements
Assess competition in international markets	Adjust trade statistics Input to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Your participation is vital. The accuracy of the MXP is dependent upon a high level of voluntary participation. Since we use a statistical sampling process, we cannot replace your business. We know you receive many requests for data. Therefore, to use as little of your time as possible, we will select only a sample of items representative of your company’s «import/export» trade and ask for information on prices.

Your participation is confidential. We do not reveal actual company names or prices in our published indexes.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, its employees, agents, and partner statistical agencies, will use the information you provide for statistical purposes only and will hold the information in confidence to the full extent permitted by law. In accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (44 U.S.C. 3572) and other applicable Federal laws, your responses will not be disclosed in identifiable form without your informed consent. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, Federal information systems are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data.

«FE_FirstName» «FE_LastName» will contact you soon to provide a more complete explanation of the MXP and arrange a brief meeting. We also have enclosed some additional information regarding the MXP. If you have any questions, please contact «Mr./Ms.» «FE_LastName» at «FE_Tel». We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely yours,

NAME

«Title»

Enclosure

«Enclosure_Name»

www.bls.gov/mxp/