30_day notice

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2023 / Notices
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–20256 Filed 9–18–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau

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Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Automated Export System
(AES)
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite 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. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on November
21, 2022 during a 60-day comment
period. This notice allows for an
additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau,
Department of Commerce.
Title: Automated Export System
(AES).
OMB Control Number: 0607–0152.
Form Number(s): Automated Export
System (AES).
Type of Request: Regular submission,
request for extension without change of
a currently approved collection.
Number of Respondents: 17,025,219.
Average Hours per Response: 3
minutes per AES transaction.
Burden Hours: 851,261.
Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau
requires mandatory filing of all export
information via the Automated Export
System (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. With this
submission, the Census Bureau is

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requesting continued clearance of the
AES program.
The AES is the primary instrument
used for collecting export trade data,
which are used by the Census Bureau
for statistical purposes. The AES
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 federal
economic indicator, and a primary
component of the Gross Domestic
Product. The published export data
enable the private and public sector 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
the Export Control Reform Act of 2018,
50 U.S.C. 4801–4852. 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.
In order to publish accurate export
trade statistics, the Census Bureau is
responsible for maintaining the FTR,
which implements the provisions for
filing export information 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 OMB in January 1999
and had 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 the revision to the AES Program in
2019, the Census Bureau eliminated the
need for an annual approval from OMB
since it is included in the Information
Collection Request (ICR).

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With this submission, the Census
Bureau is requesting continued
clearance of the AES program as a result
of the publication of a final rule in the
Federal Register on August 10, 2023 (88
FR 54234) adding a conditional data
element to the AES called the
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls
Category XXI Determination Number.
The final rule will require on the
effective date of November 8, 2023 AES
filers (the U.S. Principal Party in
Interest (USPPI) or the authorized agent)
to report the DDTC Category XXI
Determination Number only when the
DDTC United States Munitions List
(USML) Category XXI is selected in the
DDTC USML Category Code field in the
AES. In calendar year 2022, 156,195
(0.6%) AES records consisted of USML
Category XXI commodities.
The Census Bureau published a notice
of proposed rulemaking in the Federal
Register on May 3, 2023 (88 FR 27815)
inviting public comments on our plans
to add the conditional data element. The
Census Bureau gave the public 60 days
to comment, and at the conclusion of
the 60 days, no comments were
received. In the final rule published on
August 10, 2023, the Census Bureau
sought public comments regarding:
whether this proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
the accuracy of the burden estimate;
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information,
including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
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 (method
of transport, exporting carrier, and
whether containerized); who the parties
to the transaction are (USPPI,
authorized agent, and intermediate and
ultimate consignees); 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). Profile information on the
USPPI and the authorized agent
provides a contact for verification of the
information.
The data collected from the AES
serves as the official record of export
transactions and is used by the U.S.
Federal Government and the private
sector. The Federal Government uses

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2023 / Notices

every data element in the AES. The
mandatory filing requirement of the
export information in 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 Department of Homeland
Security’s CBP and Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI). The mandatory use
of the AES also facilitates the
enforcement by the BIS of the Export
Administration Regulations for the
detection and prevention of exports of
national security sensitive commodities
to unauthorized destinations; the
enforcement by the CBP of the U.S.
Department of State’s International
Traffic in Arms Regulations for the
exports of defense articles; the
validation by the Census Bureau of the
Kimberly Process Certificate for the
exports of rough diamonds; and
enforcement and compliance by other
federal agencies (i.e., Environmental
Protection Agency, Drug Enforcement
Agency, etc.) of regulations pertaining to
export requirements.
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; 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
because the AES shows the relationship
of the parties to the export transaction
(as required by the Bureau of Economic
Analysis (BEA). The Bureau of Labor
Statistics also uses the 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.
The International Trade
Administration relies heavily on the
preliminary import statistics of steel
mill products provided by the Census
Bureau. As a part of the Government’s
steel initiative, the Department of
Commerce was instructed by the

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Administration to monitor steel imports.
The early release of preliminary
statistics on steel mill imports allows
the steel industry to identify trends and
potential shifts in trade patterns and
take appropriate action. 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
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.
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.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
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 the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and
entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0607–0152.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–20227 Filed 9–18–23; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Office of the Secretary
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Generic Clearance Improving
Customer Experience (OMB Circular
A–11, Section 280 Implementation)
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite 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. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on April 20,
2023, during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30
days for public comments.
Agency: Office of the Secretary,
Department of Commerce.
Title: Improving Customer Experience
(OMB Circular A–11, Section 280
Implementation).
OMB Control Number: 0690–0035.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular Submission,
extension without change of a currently
approved collection.
Number of Respondents: 300,000.
Average Hours per Response: Varied,
dependent upon the data collection
method used. The possible response
time to complete a questionnaire or
survey may be 3 minutes or up to 2
hours to participate in an interview or
focus group.
Burden Hours: 27,725.
Needs and Uses: The results will be
used to improve the delivery of Federal
services and programs. It will also
provide government-wide data on
customer experience that can be
displayed on www.performance.gov to
help build transparency and
accountability of Federal programs to
the customers they serve.
Affected Public: Collections will be
targeted to the solicitation of opinions
from respondents who have experience
with the program or may have
experience with the program in the near
future. For the purposes of this request,
‘‘customers’’ are individuals,
businesses, and organizations that
interact with a Federal Government
agency or program, either directly or via

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