2018-15657. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: International Trade Administration, Commerce.

Title: Domestic and International Client Export Services and Customized Forms.

OMB Control Number: 0625-0143.

Form Number(s): ITA-4096P.

Type of Request: Renewal submission.

Number of Respondents: 200,000.

Average Hours per Response: 10 minutes.

Burden Hours: 33,333 (annual).

Needs and Uses: The International Trade Administration's (ITA) U.S. Commercial Service (CS) is mandated by Congress to broaden and deepen the U.S. exporter base. The CS accomplishes this by providing counseling, programs and services to help U.S. organizations export and conduct business in overseas markets. This information collection package enables the CS to provide appropriate export services to U.S. exporters and international buyers.

The Commercial Service (CS) offers a variety of services to enable clients to begin exporting/importing or to expand existing exporting/importing efforts. Clients may learn about our services from business related entities such as the National Association of Manufacturers, Federal Express, State Economic Development offices, the internet or word of mouth. The CS provides a standard set of services to assist clients with identifying potential overseas partners, establishing meeting programs with appropriate overseas business contacts and providing due diligence reports on potential overseas business partners. The CS also provides other export-related services considered to be of a “customized nature” because they do not fit into the standard set of CS export services, but are driven by unique business needs of individual clients.

The dissemination of international market information and potential business opportunities for U.S. exporters are critical components of the Commercial Service's export assistance programs and services. U.S. companies conveniently access and indicate their interest in these services by completing the appropriate forms via ITA and CS U.S. Export Assistance Center websites.

The CS works closely with clients to educate them about the exporting/importing process and to help prepare them for exporting/importing. When a client is ready to begin the exporting/importing process our field staff provide counseling to assist in the development of an exporting strategy. We provide fee-based, export-related services designed to help client export/import. The type of export-related service that is proposed to a client depends upon a client's business goals and where they are in the export/import process. Some clients are at the beginning of the export process and require assistance with identifying potential distributors, whereas other clients may be ready to sign a contract with a potential distributor and require due diligence assistance.

Before the CS can provide export-related services to clients, such as assistance with identifying potential partners or providing due diligence, specific information is required to determine the client's business objectives and needs. For example, before we can provide a service to identify potential business partners we need to know whether the client would like a potential partner to have specific technical qualifications, coverage in a specific market, English or foreign language ability or warehousing requirements. This information collection is designed to elicit such data so that appropriate services can be proposed and conducted to most effectively meet the client's exporting goals. Without these forms the CS is unable to provide services when requested by clients.

The forms ask U.S. exporters standard questions about their company details, export experience, information about the products or services they wish to export and exporting goals. A few questions are tailored to a specific program type and will vary slightly with each program. CS staff use this information to gain an understanding of client's needs and objectives so that they can provide appropriate and effective export assistance tailored to an exporter's particular requirements.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government; and Federal government.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to [e-mail] or fax to [phone].

Sheleen Dumas,

Department Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.