Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Automated Export System Program

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>Census Bureau</SUBAGY> <SUBJECT>Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Automated Export System Program</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Census Bureau, Department of Commerce. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice of information collection, request for comment. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites 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. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed extension of the Automated Export System Program, prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed information collection must be received on or before November 10, 2025. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by email to <E T="03">Thomas.J.Smith@census.gov</E> or <E T="03">PRAcomments@doc.gov.</E> Please reference Automated Export System Program in the subject line of your comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2025-0138, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov.</E> All comments received are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov</E> for public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Requests for additional information or specific questions related to collection activities should be directed to Kiesha Downs, Assistant Division Chief, Data User and Respondent Outreach, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233-6700, (301) 763-7079, or by email <E T="03">kiesha.downs@census.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Abstract</HD> Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Chapter 9, Section 301 authorizes the U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) to collect, compile and publish trade data. Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 30, known as the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), contains the regulatory provisions for preparing and filing Electronic Export Information (EEI) in the Automated Export System (AES). The Census Bureau uses the AES or successor system as the instrument for collecting export trade data from parties exporting commodities from the United States. In addition to the collection of data, the Census Bureau compiles these export data from the AES and these data are the basis for the official U.S. trade statistics on exports of commodities. These statistics are used to determine the balance of international trade and are designated for use as a principal economic indicator. The Census Bureau releases these statistics monthly according to the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Press Release Schedule. 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. The Bureau of Industry (BIS) and Security, 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. Additionally, the data enables U.S. businesses to develop practical export marketing strategies as well as provide a means for the assessment of the impact of exports on the domestic economy. The Census Bureau recognizes that any FTR revisions must maintain our ability to collect, compile, and deliver complete, accurate, and timely trade statistics while also supporting export control and enforcement efforts. To that end, on May 3, 2023, the Census Bureau issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) titled “Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR): State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Filing Requirement and Clarifications to Current Requirements.” The NPRM proposed to amend its regulations to reflect new export reporting requirements related to the U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Category XXI Determination Number. Specifically, the Census Bureau proposed to add a conditional data element, DDTC Category XXI Determination Number, when “21” is selected in the DDTC United States Munitions List (USML) Category Code field in the AES to represent USML Category XXI. This change was proposed to prevent a subset of exporters from using the incorrect USML category codes. These changes outlined in this NPRM were subsequently implemented in the final rule issued on August 10, 2023. This rule also implemented corrective changes to the FTR, including revised International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) references for existing data elements such as the DDTC Significant Military Equipment Indicator and DDTC Eligible Party Certification Indicator, along with other remedial modifications originally proposed in the NPRM published on December 15, 2021, titled “Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR): New Filing Requirement and Clarifications to Current Requirements”. Once implemented, the improper use of DDTC Category XXI significantly decreased and as a result the number of shipments went from approximately 77,000 prior to the implementation of this rule (January 2023 to August 2023) to three during the same period in 2025. These changes did not impact the reporting burden for the export trade community as only a subset of exporters were impacted; however, the rule increased the accuracy of the data collected and improved export compliance with the ITAR. In the NPRM published on December 15, 2021, the Census Bureau also proposed adding the country of origin as a conditional data element. This field would only be required when foreign origin is selected in the Foreign/Domestic Origin Indicator field in the AES. Currently, foreign trade statistics lack the detail needed to identify domestic production gaps, evaluate supply chain vulnerabilities, or effectively address trade imbalances. The collection of country of origin would allow the Census Bureau to improve its foreign trade data products used by both internal and external stakeholders. After publication, the Census Bureau received multiple comments expressing concerns about the regulatory burden this new requirement would place on the trade community. The Census Bureau evaluated the comments and considered a different regulatory approach to address the concerns regarding the addition of the country of origin field based on suggestions from the trade community. The Census Bureau published an NPRM titled “Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR): Clarification of Filing Requirements Regarding In-transit Shipments and other FTR Provisions” on October 31, 2024, in an attempt to do so. In this rule, the Census Bureau proposed to revise the existing conditional data element for entry number to require the entry number when foreign origin goods are entered into the United States for consumption or warehousing and then stored in a warehouse or storage facility or admitted into a FTZ before being exported. It was determined that the entry number field would provide the Census Bureau with the necessary link to CBP entry data in order to derive the country of origin from existing data as opposed to collecting it through a new field. In addition to proposing an alternative means of collecting country of origin, the NPRM proposed to clarify its regulations governing in-transit shipments from foreign countries through the United States that are subsequently exported to a foreign destination and revise several regulatory sections, including definitions, filing requirements, responsibilities of parties to the export transaction, confidentiality protocols, penalty provisions, and voluntary self-disclosure processes to ensure greater clarity, accuracy, and consistency throughout the FTR. Despite the proposed alternative to use the existing entry number field, the trade community further disagreed that entry number would not be a viable solution as there were burdens with this requirement as well. The concerns identified were related to cost and operational challenges, software system limitations, and the inability to identify a one-to-one relationship between the admission of goods to an FTZ and the entire shipment of goods exported. The comments indicated that the Census Bureau should add a country of origin data element as was originally proposed in 2021 in lieu of requiring the entry number field. The Census Bureau appreciates the trade community's concern that the proposed entry number requirement could potentially create reporting challenges and result in inaccurate or missed data. The Census Bureau also appreciates the trade community's reconsideration of reporting country of origin and supports the suggestions to collect the country of origin field instead of utilizing the entry number field. Additionally, previous OMB Clearance Packages highlighted concerns about the continued inclusion of the State of Origin field in the AES. 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