International Services Surveys: BE-20, Benchmark Survey of Selected Services Transactions With Unaffiliated Foreign Persons

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This final rule revises regulations for the BE-20, Benchmark Survey of Selected Services Transactions with Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The BE-20 survey is conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. The data are needed to support U.S. trade policy initiatives; compile the U.S. international transactions, national income and product, and input-output accounts; assess U.S. competitiveness in international trade in services; and improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities. The rule raises the exemption level for the 2001 benchmark survey to $1 million in covered sales or purchases transactions, from $500,000 on the previous (1996) survey. Raising the exemption level will reduce respondent burden, particularly for small companies. The rule also: creates new categories for other trade-related services, auxiliary insurance services, and waste treatment and depollution services; adds coverage of transcription services to "other" private services; and amends several other service categories. These changes will close some statistical gaps in th