Brief

The Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990 aims to enhance the quality of international data collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Act allows for sharing statistical establishment list information between agencies, including the Census Bureau, to improve analysis and presentation of foreign direct investment in the United States. It also requires the Secretary of Commerce to submit annual reports on foreign direct investment and authorizes the General Accounting Office to review and make recommendations on data collection and reporting.

104 STAT. 2344 PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990
Public Law 101-
101st Congress 533
Nov. 7, 1990
[S. 2516]
Foreign Direct
Investment and
International
Financial Data
Improvements
Act of 1990.
Business and
industry.
22 use 3141
note.
22 use 3141.
22 use 3142. An Act
To augment and improve the quality of international data compiled by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis under the International Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act by allowing that agency to share statistical establishment list informa­
tion compiled by the Bureau of the Census, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "Foreign Direct Investment and
International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990".
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The United States Government collects substantial
amounts of information from foreign owned or controlled busi­
ness enterprises or affiliates operating in the United States.
(2) Additional analysis and presentation of this information is
desirable to assist the public debate on the issue of foreign
direct investments in the United States.
(3) Information collected from foreign owned or controlled
firms by the Bureau of Economic Analysis has serious analj^-
ical limitations because it is largely collected on an "enterprise"
basis that does not permit an adequate analysis by industry
groupings.
(4) Statistical and analytic comparisons of the performance of
foreign owned or controlled businesses operating within the
United States with other business enterprises operating within
the same industry can be accomplished under sections 20?) and
5(c) of the International Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act, and under Executive Order Numbered 11961, with­
out the need to collect additional information, by sharing with
other authorized Government agencies the employer identifica­
tion numbers maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
(5) Public disclosures of confidential business information
collected by the United States Government relating to inter­
national direct investment flows could cause serious damage to
the accuracy of the statistical data base.
(6) The General Accounting Office may have limited access to
Government data on foreign direct investment.
SEC. 3. REPORT BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.
(a) ANNUAL REPORT ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE
UNITED STATES.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and not later than the end of each 1-year
period occurring thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on
Ways and Means, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives, to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
49-139 O – 90 (533) PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 104 STAT. 2345
and Transportation of the Senate, and to the Joint EJconomic
Committee of the Congress a report on the role and significance of
foreign direct investment in the United States. Such report shall
address the history, scope, trends, market concentrations, and ef­
fects on the United States economy of such investment. In addition,
the Secretary of Commerce shall, if requested by any such commit­
tee, appear before that committee to provide testimony with respect
to any report under this subsection.
(b) SOURCES OF DATA.—In preparing each report under subsection
(a), the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary's designees, shall
consider information collected by—
(1) the Bureau of Economic Analysis under the International
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101
and following);
(2) the Bureau of the Census on industry, manufacturing,
research and development, and trade, under title 13, United
States Code;
(3) the Bureau of Labor Statistics pertaining to information
collected under the International Investment and Trade in
Services Survey Act, but only to the extent that such informa­
tion is in a form that cannot be associated with, or otherwise
identify, directly or indirectly, a person, including any enter­
prise or establishment;
(4) the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary's designee
pursuant to section 2 of Executive Order 11858 of May 7, 1975;
(5) the United States Department of Agriculture under the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7
U.S.C. 3501 and following);
(6) the Department of the Treasury under section 6039C of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6039C), but only to the
extent that such information is in a form that cannot be associ­
ated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a person,
including any enterprise or establishment;
(7) the Department of Energy under section 657(8) of the
Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7267(8)), but
only to the extent that such information is in a form that
cannot be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or
indirectly, a person, including any enterprise or establishment;
(8) other Federal agencies not referred to in paragraphs (1)
through (7), but only to the extent that such information is in a
form that cannot be associated with, or otherwise identify,
directly or indirectly, a person, including any enterprise or
establishment;
(9) foreign governments and agencies thereof; and
(10) private sector sources.
(c) ANALYSES.—(1) The analysis in each report prepared under
subsection (a) shall, to the extent of available data, compare busi­
ness enterprises controlled by foreign persons with other business
enterprises in the United States with respect to employment,
market share, value added, productivity, research and development,
exports, imports, profitability, taxes paid, and investment incentives
and services provided by State and local governments (including
quasi-governmental entities).
(2) Each such analysis shall be done by significant industry sectors
and geographical regions, except that information shall not be
presented in a way in which any person, including any business
enterprise or establishment, can be identified. The restriction con-104 STAT. 2346 PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990
tained in the preceding sentence on presentation of information does
not apply to information that is obtained from foreign governments
or agencies thereof and that has been pubUshed pursuant to the
lawful disclosure of the information. To the extent that data are
available, each such analysis shall include an analysis, together
with current levels and trends, of the number and market share of
business enterprises at least 10 percent of the voting securities or
other evidences of ownership of which are owned or controlled by a
foreign person, and of the number and market share of the
establishments of such business enterprises, that are engaged
substantially in the production or coproduction of any critical tech­
nologies included in the most recent plan submitted to the Congress
under section 2368 of title 10, United States Code, or included in the
most recent report submitted to the President under section 603 of
the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and
Priorities Act of 1976.
22 use 3143. SEC. 4. REPORTS BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General, to the extent per­
mitted by law, including section 8 of this Act, is authorized to review
the information described in section 30)) for purposes of preparing
the report required under subsection (b) of this section. Nothing in
this section authorizes disclosure of any individually identifiable
data or information in any form that can be associated with or
otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, any person, including any
enterprise or establishment.
Qo) REPORT.—Not later than 5 months after each report issued by
the Secretary of Commerce under section 3, the Comptroller Gen­
eral of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, to
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate, and to the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress a
report—
(1) analyzing the report of the Secretary of Commerce;
(2) making recommendations for changes in the analysis done
in the report due the following year under section 3;
(3) making recommendations for improving the collection by
respective Federal agencies of data on foreign direct investment
in the United States, including use of private sector data, and
improving survey questionnaires to obtain useful and consistent
information that avoids unnecessary redundancy among Fed-
ergil agencies;
(4) reviewing the status and processes for reconciliation of
data exchanged as required by this Act and the amendments
made by this Act, and making any recommendations for
improving and augmenting international financial data;
(5) making recommendations for possible additional policy
coordination within the executive branch affecting foreign
direct investment in the United States; and
(6) making recommendations for improvement of the cov­
erage, industry classification, and consistency among Federal
Eigencies of their respective surveys.
Reports under this subsection shall be issued only with respect to
the first 3 reports issued by the Secretary of Commerce under
• section 3. PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 104 STAT. 2347
(c) OTHER REVIEWS AND REPORTS.—(1) The Comptroller General
may, to the extent permitted by law, including section 5(c) of the
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22
U.S.C. 3104(c)) and section 8 of this Act, also review data and
information at the Bureau of the (Census, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis and from time to
time report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the
Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Com­
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and to the Joint
Economic (Dommittee of the (Dongress.
(2) The C!omptroller General shall, in carrying out paragraph (1),
comply with procedures relating to access to and disclosure of data
and information established within the Federal statistical agencies
referred to in paragraph (1), and maintain any and all individually
identifiable data and information at the statistical agency where the
information is reviewed.
(d) CONFIDENTIALITY; REVIEW BY OTHER AGENCIES.—In preparing
any report under this section, the Comptroller General shall not—
(1) disclose any confidential business information or present
any information in a way in which any person, including a
business enterprise or establishment, can be identified; or
(2) combine, match, or use in any other way individually
identifiable data or information maintained by any of the Fed­
eral statistical agencies referred to in subsection (c) with any
other individually identifiable confidential data or information
that is not collected by such statistical agencies.
Before issuing any such report, the Comptroller General shall in
each instance submit the report to the head or heads of the agency
or agencies from which confidential or identifiable information
described in the preceding sentence was obtained. The agency or
agencies concerned shall promptly review the report for the purpose
of assuring that the confidentiality of such information and identity
is maintained, and for any other purpose, and shall provide the
Comptroller (Jeneral with appropriate comments or other sugges­
tions within 10 working days after receiving the report.
(e) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—The access by the Comptroller General to
information under this Act shall be in conformity with section 716 of
title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. ACCESS TO CENSUS DATA BY BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.
(a) ACCESS TO DATA.—Title 13, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
"CHAPTER 10—EXCHANGE OF CENSUS
INFORMATION
"Sec.
"401. Exchange of census information with Bureau of Economic Analjrsis.
"§ 401. Exchange of census information with Bureau of Economic
Analysis.
"(a) EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION.—The Bureau of the Census shall
exchange with the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department
of Commerce information collected under this title, and under the
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, that
pertains to any business enterprise that is operating in the United 104 STAT. 2348 PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990
States, if the Secretary of Commerce determines such information is
appropriate to augment and improve the quality of data collected
under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey
Act. Information provided to the Bureau of Economic Analysis by
the Bureau of the Census shall be only those data collected directly
from respondents by the Bureau of the Census.
"Ob) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.—The Director of the Bureau
requesting information under this section shall make the request in
writing and shall certify that the information will be used only for
statistical activities performed to improve the quality of data col­
lected under the authority of title 13, United States Code, and the
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act.
"(c) DEFINITION.—As used in subsection (a), the terms 'business
enterprise' and 'United States' have the meanings given those terms
in section 3 of the International Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act.".
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The table of chapters at the
beginning of title 13, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
"10. Exchange of census information 401".
(2) Section 9(a) of title 13, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after "section 8" the following: "or chapter 10".
SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT AND TRADE
IN SERVICES SURVEY ACT.
(A) PURPOSE.—Section 2(b) of the International Investment and
Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C 3101(b)) is amended by
inserting after "the impact of such investment and trade," in the
first sentence the following: "to authorize the collection and use of
information on direct investments owned or controlled directly or
indirectly by foreign governments or persons,".
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 4(a)(5) of the International
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3103(a)(5)) is
amended by inserting before the period the following: ", including,
with respect to foreign direct investment in the United States,
information on ownership by foreign governments of United States
affiliates by country, and tables, on an aggregated basis, of business
enterprises the ownership or control of which by foreign persons is
more than 50 percent of the voting securities or other evidences of
ownership of such enterprises, and business enterprises the owner­
ship or control of which by foreign persons is 50 percent or less
of the voting securities or other evidences of ownership of such
enterprises".
(c) BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS REPORT.—Section 4 of the
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22
U.S.C. 3103) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
"(h)(1) The President, or the designee of the President responsible
for monitoring the impact of foreign investment in the United
States, coordinating implementation of United States policy on
investment, and investigating foreign acquisitions under section 721
of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 App. U.S.C. 2170), may
request a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
Department of Commerce. When such request is made in connection
with an investigation under such section 721, the report shall be
provided within 14 days after the request is made. When such PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 104 STAT. 2349
request is not made in connection with an investigation under such
section 721, the report shall be provided within 60 days after the
request.
"(2) A report requested under paragraph (1) shall contain the best
available information on the extent of foreign direct investment in a
given industry, including a breakdown of total investment in the
industry, and any foreign government investment in the industry,
by country of the foreign owner, and any other information that the
Bureau of Economic Analysis or such designee of the President
considers relevant. The industry information provided shall be at
the most detailed level available of Standard Industrial Classifica­
tion, subject to the requirements of section 5.".
(d) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—Section 5 of the International
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3104) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
"(d) The Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce is
authorized, for purposes of augmenting and improving the quality of
data collected by the Bureau of the Census, to have, upon written
request, access to data relating to business enterprises that is col­
lected directly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for purposes of
this Act. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor
is authorized, for purposes of augmenting and improving the data
collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to have access, upon
written request, to selected identification information on business
enterprises and data on international services transactions, that is
collected directly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for purposes
of this Act. Officers and employees of the Bureau of the Census and
the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall, for purposes of subsection (c), be
deemed to be officials or employees designated to perform functions
under this Act.".
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 5 of the International
Investment and Trade in Services Survev Act is amended—
(1) in subsection (c)(2) by striking (d)" and inserting "(e)"; and
(2) in subsection (e), as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this
section, by inserting "or (d)" after "(c)".
SEC. 7. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TIMELY REPORTING.
(a) AFFIRMATION BY A RESPONSIBLE OFFICER.—Section 5(b) of the
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22
U.S.C. 3104(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
"When a report under paragraph (2) is furnished under oath, such
oath shall be by the officer of such person who is directly responsible
for the maintenance and compilation of such information, and shall
certify that the report was prepared in accordance with this Act, is
complete, and is to such officer s best knowledge and belief, substan­
tially accurate, except in a case in which, in accordance with rules
and regulations issued under this Act, estimates have been provided
because data are not available from customary accounting records
or precise data could not be obtained without undue burden, and the
data subject to such estimates has been noted in the report.".
(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 6(a) of the International Investment
and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3105(a)) is amended by
striking "may be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000"
and inserting "shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than
$2,500, and not more than $25,000,". 104 STAT. 2350 PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990
22 use 3144. SEC. 8. ACCESS TO INFORMATION; CONFIDENTIALITY.
(a) CoNFiDENTiAUTY.—(1) Those officers and employees who have
access to information under this Act to which the provisions of
section 9 of title 13, United States Code, apply must have been
sworn, as provided for in section 23(c) of such title, to observe the
limitations imposed by section 9(a) of such title and to be subject to
the provisions of section 214 of such title to the same extent as such
section applies to officers or employees of the Bureau of the Census.
(2) Only those officers and employees who have sworn to observe
the provisions of section 5(c) of the International Investment and
Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3104(c)) may have access
under this Act to information to which such provisions apply, and
such officers and employees are subject to the penalties for improper
disclosure of such information provided in section 5(e) of that Act to
the same extent as such section applies to officers or employees
designated to perform functions under that Act.
(3) Those officers and employees referred to in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of this section shall be subject to any other restriction or penalty
imposed by law with respect to disclosure of information to which
such officers or employees have access under this Act.
(b) VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES.—Whoever is in possession of
information made available to any department or agency by virtue
of this Act or the amendments made by this Act and discloses the
information in any form which can be associated with, or otherwise
identify, any person, including any business enterprise or establish­
ment, shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more than $25,000 or
imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
(c) UNLAWFUL ACCESS.—Whoever procures, by fraud, misrepresen­
tation, or other unlawful act, access to information made available
to any department or agency by virtue of this Act or the amend­
ments made by this Act shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more
than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
(d) INFORMATION IMMUNE FROM PROCESS.—Information obtained
under this Act shall be immune from legal process and shall not be
used as evidence or for any purpose in any Federal, State, or local
government action, suit, or other administrative or judicial proceed­
ing except as necessary to enforce requirements imposed by law on
the collection of information, to enforce the provisions of subsections
(b) and (c).
(e) IMPLEMENTATION.—(1) The Secretary of Commerce shall be
responsible for the implementation of the exchange of information
under this Act between the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of
Economic Analysis, and shall resolve any questions on access to
information, data, or methodology that may arise between the
Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, except
that the Secretary shall not construe this section in a manner which
would prevent the augmentation and improvement of the quality of
international data collected under the International Investment and
Trade in Services Survey Act. The Bureau of Economic Analysis and
the Bureau of the Census shall agree in writing to the data to be
shared under this Act.
(2) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall be
responsible for the implementation of the exchange of information
under this Act betwef n the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and shall resolve any questions on access
to information, data, or methodology that may arise between the PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 104 STAT. 2351
Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
except that the Director shall not construe this section in a manner
which would prevent the augmentation and improvement of the
quality of international data collected under the International
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act.
SEC. 9. CONSTRUCTION OF THE ACT. 22 USC 3145.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by
this Act shall be construed to require any business enterprise or any
of its officers, directors, shareholders, or employees, or any other
person, to provide information beyond that which is required before
the enactment of this Act.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—All departments and agencies implement­
ing this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall, with
respect to surveys or questionnaires used in such implementation—
(1) eliminate questions that are no longer necessary,
(2) cooperate with one another in order to ensure that ques­
tions asked are consistent among the departments and agencies,
and
(3) develop new questions in order to obtain more refined
statistics and analyses,
consistent with the purposes of the provisions of law amended by
this Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980.
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 22 USC 3146.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the terms "foreign", "direct investment", "international
investment", "United States", "business enterprise", "foreign
person", and "United States person" have the meanings given
those terms in section 3 of the International Investment and
Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3102); and
(2) the term "foreign direct investment in the United States"
means direct investment by foreign persons in any business
enterprise that is a United States person.
Approved November 7, 1990.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2516 (H.R. 4520):
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 101-855, Pt. 1 (Coram, on Foreign Affairs) and Ft. 2 (Comm. on
Energy and Commerce), both accompanjdng H.R. 4520.
SENATE REPORTS: No. 101-443 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990):
Oct. 18, considered and passed Senate.
Oct. 23, considered and passed House.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 26 (1990):
Nov. 7, Presidential statement.

Highlights content goes here...

Purpose

The Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990 is a legislative act passed by the United States Congress to improve the quality of international data compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The primary purpose of this act is to augment and enhance the analysis and presentation of information collected from foreign-owned or controlled business enterprises operating in the United States.

The act makes several key findings, including that the US government collects substantial amounts of information from foreign-owned businesses operating in the country, but that additional analysis and presentation of this information are desirable. It also notes that the current system has serious analytical limitations due to its enterprise-based approach, which hinders industry-level analysis.

Key Provisions

The key provisions of this act include:

  • The Secretary of Commerce is required to submit an annual report on foreign direct investment in the United States to several congressional committees.
  • The report must address the history, scope, trends, market concentrations, and effects on the US economy of such investment.
  • The Secretary of Commerce must consider information collected by various federal agencies when preparing each report.
  • The Comptroller General is authorized to review data and information at the Bureau of Economic Analysis and from time to time report to Congress.
  • Confidential business information cannot be disclosed, and individually identifiable data or information cannot be associated with any person, including a business enterprise or establishment.

Industry Impact

The impact on industries and businesses will likely include:

  • Improved analysis and presentation of data on foreign direct investments in the US
  • Enhanced transparency and accountability regarding foreign investment in key sectors.
  • Potential changes to survey questionnaires used by various federal agencies.
  • Access to data sharing between the Bureau of Economic Analysis and other government agencies for improving international financial data.

Updates/Amendments

This act includes several updates and amendments to existing laws, including:

  • The International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act
  • The Internal Revenue Code of 1986
  • The National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976
  • The Defense Production Act of 1950

These updates aim to improve data collection and sharing practices while maintaining confidentiality and protecting individual rights.

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