Direct Investment Surveys: BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad1999

These final rules revise regulations for the BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad. The BE-10 survey is mandatory and is conducted once every 5 years by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. The benchmark survey will be conducted for 1999. BEA will send the survey to potential respondents in March of the year 2000; responses will be due by May 31, 2000 for respondents required to file fewer than 50 forms and by June 30, 2000 for those required to file 50 or more forms. The last benchmark survey was conducted for 1994. The benchmark survey covers virtually the entire universe of U.S. direct investment abroad in terms of value, and is BEA's most comprehensive survey of such investment in terms of subject matter. The revised rules increase the exemption level for reporting on the BE-10B(SF) short form and the BE-10B BANK form from $3 million to $7 million; direct that minority-owned nonbank foreign affiliates, regardless of size, be reported on the BE-10B(SF) short form; increase the exemption level for reporting on the BE-10B(LF) long form from $50 million to $100 million; and direct U.S. reporters with total assets, sales or gross operating revenues, and net income less than or equal to $100 million (positive or negative) to report only selected items.