Notice of Request for a Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection, 30943-30945 [2023-10250]
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30943
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 88, No. 93
Monday, May 15, 2023
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Agriculture has
submitted the following information
collection requirement(s) to OMB for
review and clearance under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13. Comments are
requested regarding; whether the
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of burden including
the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; ways to enhance the
quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; and ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments regarding this information
collection received by June 14, 2023
will be considered. Written comments
and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor a collection of information
unless the collection of information
displays a currently valid OMB control
number and the agency informs
potential persons who are to respond to
the collection of information that such
persons are not required to respond to
the collection of information unless it
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19:07 May 12, 2023
Jkt 259001
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
Title: Movement of Organisms
Modified or Produced Through Genetic
Engineering.
OMB Control Number: 0579–0085.
Summary of Collection: Under the
Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7703
et seq.) the Secretary of Agriculture is
authorized to prohibit or restrict the
importation, entry, or movement of
interstate commerce of any plant, plant
product, biological control organism,
noxious weed, article, or means of
conveyance if the Secretary determines
that the prohibition or restriction is
necessary to prevent the introduction or
the dissemination of a plant pest into
the United States. The Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is
charged with preventing the
introduction of plant pest into the
United States or their dissemination
within the United States. The statutory
requirements for the information
collection activity are found in the PPA.
The regulations in 7 CFR part 340
implement the provisions of the PPA by
providing the information necessary to
establish conditions for proposed
introductions of certain genetically
engineered organisms and products
which present a risk of plant pest
introduction. APHIS will collect
information using several APHIS forms.
Need and Use of the Information:
APHIS will collect the information
through a permit procedure to ensure
that certain genetically engineered
organisms, when imported, moved
interstate, or released into the
environment, will not present a risk of
plant pest introduction. The information
collected through the permit procedure
is used to determine whether a
genetically engineered organism will
pose a risk to agriculture or the
environment if grown in the absence of
regulations by APHIS. APHIS will also
collect information through activities
including marking and labeling, and
processing appeals, reviews, and
confirmation letters and exemption
requests. The information is also
provided to State departments of
agriculture for review and made
available to the public and private
sectors to ensure that all sectors are kept
informed concerning any potential risks
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
posed using genetic engineering
technology.
Description of Respondents: Business
or other for profit; not-for-profit
institutions; State, local or Tribal
government.
Number of Respondents: 431.
Frequency of Responses:
Recordkeeping; reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 44,082.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023–10231 Filed 5–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Foreign Agricultural Service
Notice of Request for a Revision of a
Currently Approved Information
Collection
Foreign Agricultural Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice seeks comments on a proposed
revision to the currently approved
information collection in support of the
Export Sales Reporting program.
Specifically, FAS requests public
comments regarding whether the
collection of the proposed contract by
contract information, rather than
aggregated sales information, will help
improve the timeliness and reliability of
the data in USDA’s Export Sales
Reports; the accuracy of the agency’s
estimate of the burden of the collection
of information including validity of the
methodology and assumption used;
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information collected; and
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to report, including through the use
of automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
DATES: Comments should be submitted
no later than July 14, 2023 to be assured
of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments,
identified by the OMB Control number
0551–0007, by any of the following
methods:
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\15MYN1.SGM
15MYN1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
30944
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 93 / Monday, May 15, 2023 / Notices
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Email: esr@fas.usda.gov. Include
OMB Control number 0551–0007 in the
subject line of the message.
• Mail, Courier, or Hand Delivery:
Amy Harding, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural
Service, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW, Room 5531, Washington, DC 20250.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency names and
OMB Control Number for this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Harding, 202–720–3538,
Amy.Harding@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Export Sales Reporting Program
of U. S. Agricultural Commodities.
OMB Number: 0551–0007.
Expiration Date of Approval: October
31, 2023.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: Section 602 of the
Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, as
amended, (7 U.S.C. 5712) requires the
reporting of information pertaining to
contracts for export sale of certain
specified agricultural commodities that
may be designated by the Secretary of
Agriculture. In accordance with Section
602, individual reports submitted shall
remain confidential and shall be
compiled and published in compilation
form each week following the week of
reporting. Regulations at 7 CFR part 20
provide the reporting requirements and
prescribe a system for reporting
information pertaining to contracts for
export sales.
USDA’s electronic reporting system
for the collection of information on
export sales, also known as the Export
Sales Reporting and Maintenance
System (ESRMS), was created after the
large, unexpected purchase of U.S.
wheat and corn by the Soviet Union in
1972. To ensure that all parties involved
in the production and export of U.S.
grain have access to up-to-date export
information, the U.S. Congress
mandated an export sales reporting
requirement in 1973. Prior to the
establishment of the ESRMS, it was
difficult for the public to obtain
information on export sales activity
until the actual shipments had taken
place. This frequently resulted in
considerable delay in the availability of
market information.
Under the ESRMS, U.S. exporters may
be required to report daily to the
Foreign Agricultural Service
information with respect to sales of
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19:07 May 12, 2023
Jkt 259001
agricultural commodities as requested.
Such daily reports are to be made no
later than 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on
the next business day after the sale is
made. Currently, large sales of certain
designated grains, oilseeds and oilseed
products are required to be reported
daily. The designated commodities for
these daily reports are wheat (by class),
barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats,
soybeans, soybean cake and meal, and
soybean oil. Large sales for all above
designated commodities except soybean
oil are defined as 100,000 metric tons or
more of one commodity sold in one day
to a single destination or 200,000 tons
or more of one commodity sold to one
destination during the weekly reporting
period. Large sales for soybean oil are
20,000 metric tons or more sold in one
day to one destination or 40,000 metric
tons or more sold to one destination
during any reporting week.
Weekly reports are also required,
regardless of the size of the sales
transaction, for all these commodities,
as well as wheat products, rye, flaxseed,
linseed oil, sunflower seed oil, cotton
(by staple length), cottonseed,
cottonseed cake and meal, cottonseed
oil, rice (by class), cattle hides and skins
(including cattle, calf, and kip), cattle
wet blues, beef, and pork. The reporting
week for the ESRMS is FridayThursday. The Secretary of Agriculture
has the authority to add other
commodities to this list.
U.S. exporters currently provide
information on the quantity of their
sales transactions, the type and class of
commodity, the marketing year of
shipment, the destination, and shipment
information to include vessel name,
quantity shipped, and bill of lading date
for bulk shipments of wheat, corn,
soybeans, barley and sorghum, among
other things. They also report any
changes in previously reported
information, such as cancellations and
changes in destinations.
The ESRMS currently requires
exporters to manually upload the
required data for Export Sales using
form FAS 98. In addition, exporters are
required to submit form FAS 97 to
report Optional Origin Sales and related
transactions and form FAS 100 to report
Exports Made for Exporters Own
Account and related transactions.
Reports of contract terms shall be filed
when requested, typically quarterly and
annually, on form FAS–99, ‘‘Contract
Terms Supporting Export Sales and
Foreign Purchases,’’ and shall include
the following:
(1) Reporting exporter’s contract
number.
(2) Date of export sale or purchase.
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Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(3) Name of foreign buyer or foreign
seller.
(4) Delivery period specified in the
export sale or purchase.
(5) Delivery terms specified in the
export sale or purchase (F.O.B., C. & F.,
etc.).
(6) Actual quantity of the export sale
or purchase.
(7) Quantity not exported against the
sale or foreign purchase (do not include
any tolerance).
(8) Country of destination.
(9) On purchases from foreign sellers,
show separately from export sales all
items of this paragraph.
ESRMS is being upgraded for the first
time in over a decade. A business
process re-engineering approach was
used to analyze and re-design the
functionalities and workflows of ESRMS
and the Export Sales Reporting (ESR)
Query System from the ground up.
Processes are being re-structured to
improve data quality and operational
efficiency. The re-design provides a
single automated and consolidated
system for all, exporters, users, and
USDA staff, to meet mission critical
objectives unlike the current systems
which are separated into two
applications, one for exporters and
USDA staff, and another for external
users.
The new ESRMS proposes to collect
contract-specific sales and export data.
The additional data reported will
improve USDA’s ability to monitor and
enforce compliance with reporting
requirements and improve the overall
quality, reliability, timeliness, and
trustworthiness of the data. Contractspecific data will help USDA reconcile
export sales reporting with other USDA
reports and Customs’ export data.
Additionally, the contract data will
improve USDA’s ability to validate the
accuracy of reported sales and help
identify errant or missing sales and
export data.
Although requiring contract-specific
reports will increase the number of
entries that each exporter submits, the
new ESRMS will include an electronic
data transfer option allowing exporters
a bulk electronic upload option for their
export sales contract information via
pre-designed CSV or JSON files. The
upload of export sales contract
information, rather than aggregate sales,
provides the basic information needed
to track export sales from inception to
export. The new ESRMS is open for user
testing for those registered exporters
who want to experience the usability of
the new system at https://esrms.fas.
usda.gov/. This bulk electronic data
transfer of export sales contract data
will replace form FAS–99 Rev. 11–01,
E:\FR\FM\15MYN1.SGM
15MYN1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 93 / Monday, May 15, 2023 / Notices
Contract Terms Supporting Export Sales
and Foreign Purchases, thus creating a
time savings later in the year. The new
form to be used for weekly Export Sales,
Optional Origin Sales, and Export for
Exporters Own Account Sales is titled
‘‘FAS–ESR Contract Data Upload form.’’
A copy of the form is provided with this
package.
In addition to the data currently
required to be submitted, FAS proposes
to require data on the following for all
commodities reported:
(1) Contract terms (FAS, FOB C&F,
etc.) including volumes, destinations,
buyers, and dates,
(2) Mode of transportation (e.g., ship,
rail, truck, & container),
(3) Mode of transportation identifier
(e.g., vessel name, rail name, trucking
company name), and
(4) Bill of Lading date.
While an initial increase in exporter
administrative activity associated with
the addition of specific contract
information via the ‘‘FAS–ESR Contract
Data Upload form’’ is anticipated, the
reporting burden is expected to decline
as export companies complete any
necessary modifications to their systems
to allow their export sales data to be
transferred to the new ESRMS via the
bulk upload option using CSV or JSON
files.
In the case of daily exports above the
specified volumes, nothing will change.
Exporters will continue to report daily
sales using the existing procedures by
sending a WORD document to the
Export Sales staff as is currently
required.
Along with the FAS–ESR Contract
Data Upload form, new electronic data
transfer forms for contract adjustments,
exports, and shipment information have
been developed to ultimately decrease
the exporters’ burden hours involved
with entry of records into the new
ESRMS. These electronic data entry
forms have been designed to reflect
reporting transaction types for export
sales activities, optional origin
activities, and exports for exporters own
account activities and replace the need
for forms FAS–97 Rev. 11–01, FAS–98
Rev. 11–01, and FAS–100 Rev. 11–01.
The proposed new forms include the
following:
• FAS–ESR New Contracts (Items 20,
110, 210)
• FAS–ESR Contract Adjustments
(Items 20, 40, 50, 110, 150, 240)
• FAS–ESR Weekly Exports (Items 60,
230)
• FAS–ESR Optional Origin Sales (Item
140)
Copies of the forms are provided with
this package.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:07 May 12, 2023
Jkt 259001
FAS held six open demonstrations of
the upgraded ESRMS throughout
January, February, and March 2023, for
exporters. The electronic data transfer
processes were presented and explained
thoroughly. Additional demonstrations,
virtual training, and user acceptance
testing will be held throughout the
second and third quarters of fiscal year
2023. Participation in training and
testing will assist responders to
adequately estimate the burden of
reporting the requested information.
The estimated total annual burden
may temporarily increase while
exporters are familiarizing themselves
with the upgrades to ESRMS but then is
expected to decline as they take
advantage of automated uploading of
information.
Estimate of Burden: The average
burden, including the time for
reviewing instructions, gathering data
needed, completing forms, and record
keeping is estimated to average 30
minutes once the exporters are familiar
with the new system and the bulk
upload option.
Respondents: All exporters of wheat
and wheat flour, feed grains, oilseeds,
cotton, rice, cattle hides and skins, beef,
pork, and any products thereof, and
other commodities that the Secretary
may designate as produced in the
United States.
Estimated number of respondents:
416.
Estimated Annual Number of
Responses per Respondent: 215.
Estimated Total Annual Reporting
Burden: 44,720 hours.
Copies of this information collection
can be obtained from Dacia Rogers, the
Agency Information Collection
Coordinator, at Dacia.Rogers@usda.gov.
Request for Comments: Send
comments regarding (a) whether the
proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information including
validity of the methodology and
assumption used; (c) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to report, including through the use
of automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
All comments received in response to
this notice, including names and
addresses when provided, will be a
matter of public record. Comments will
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Frm 00003
Fmt 4703
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30945
be available without change, including
any personal information provided, for
inspection online at https://
www.regulations.gov and at the mail
address listed above between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays.
Comments will be summarized and
included in the submission for OMB
approval.
Persons with disabilities who require
an alternative means for communication
of information (Braille, large print,
audiotape, etc.) should contact
RARequest@usda.gov.
Daniel Whitley,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–10250 Filed 5–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–10–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Natural Resources Conservation
Service
[Docket ID: NRCS–2023–0009]
Urban Agriculture and Innovative
Production Advisory Committee
Natural Resources
Conservation Service, United States
Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice to solicit nominees.
AGENCY:
The Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Urban
Agriculture and Innovative Production
(OUAIP) is seeking nominations for
individuals to serve on the Urban
Agriculture and Innovative Production
Advisory Committee (UAIPAC). The
UAIPAC advises the Secretary of
Agriculture on the development of
policies and outreach relating to urban,
indoor, and other emerging agricultural
production practices. The 12 members
appointed by the Secretary of
Agriculture are expected to serve a 3year term. This specific nomination
period includes four vacancies,
including: the urban producer
representative; the higher education or
extension program represenative; the
business and economic development
representative; and a representative
with related experience in urban,
indoor, and other emerging agriculture
production practices.
DATES: USDA will consider nominations
received via email or postmarked by
July 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please send nominations via
email to: UrbanAgricultureFederal
AdvisoryCommittee@usda.gov. Email is
the preferred method for sending
nominations; alternatively, nominations
can be mailed to Brian Guse, Director of
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\15MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 93 (Monday, May 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30943-30945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10250]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Foreign Agricultural Service
Notice of Request for a Revision of a Currently Approved
Information Collection
AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice seeks comments on a proposed revision to the currently approved
information collection in support of the Export Sales Reporting
program. Specifically, FAS requests public comments regarding whether
the collection of the proposed contract by contract information, rather
than aggregated sales information, will help improve the timeliness and
reliability of the data in USDA's Export Sales Reports; the accuracy of
the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information
including validity of the methodology and assumption used; ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected;
and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to report, including through the use of automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
DATES: Comments should be submitted no later than July 14, 2023 to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by the OMB Control number
0551-0007, by any of the following methods:
[[Page 30944]]
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include OMB Control number 0551-
0007 in the subject line of the message.
Mail, Courier, or Hand Delivery: Amy Harding, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Room 5531, Washington, DC 20250.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency
names and OMB Control Number for this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Harding, 202-720-3538,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Export Sales Reporting Program of U. S. Agricultural
Commodities.
OMB Number: 0551-0007.
Expiration Date of Approval: October 31, 2023.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: Section 602 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, as
amended, (7 U.S.C. 5712) requires the reporting of information
pertaining to contracts for export sale of certain specified
agricultural commodities that may be designated by the Secretary of
Agriculture. In accordance with Section 602, individual reports
submitted shall remain confidential and shall be compiled and published
in compilation form each week following the week of reporting.
Regulations at 7 CFR part 20 provide the reporting requirements and
prescribe a system for reporting information pertaining to contracts
for export sales.
USDA's electronic reporting system for the collection of
information on export sales, also known as the Export Sales Reporting
and Maintenance System (ESRMS), was created after the large, unexpected
purchase of U.S. wheat and corn by the Soviet Union in 1972. To ensure
that all parties involved in the production and export of U.S. grain
have access to up-to-date export information, the U.S. Congress
mandated an export sales reporting requirement in 1973. Prior to the
establishment of the ESRMS, it was difficult for the public to obtain
information on export sales activity until the actual shipments had
taken place. This frequently resulted in considerable delay in the
availability of market information.
Under the ESRMS, U.S. exporters may be required to report daily to
the Foreign Agricultural Service information with respect to sales of
agricultural commodities as requested. Such daily reports are to be
made no later than 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the next business day
after the sale is made. Currently, large sales of certain designated
grains, oilseeds and oilseed products are required to be reported
daily. The designated commodities for these daily reports are wheat (by
class), barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats, soybeans, soybean cake and
meal, and soybean oil. Large sales for all above designated commodities
except soybean oil are defined as 100,000 metric tons or more of one
commodity sold in one day to a single destination or 200,000 tons or
more of one commodity sold to one destination during the weekly
reporting period. Large sales for soybean oil are 20,000 metric tons or
more sold in one day to one destination or 40,000 metric tons or more
sold to one destination during any reporting week.
Weekly reports are also required, regardless of the size of the
sales transaction, for all these commodities, as well as wheat
products, rye, flaxseed, linseed oil, sunflower seed oil, cotton (by
staple length), cottonseed, cottonseed cake and meal, cottonseed oil,
rice (by class), cattle hides and skins (including cattle, calf, and
kip), cattle wet blues, beef, and pork. The reporting week for the
ESRMS is Friday-Thursday. The Secretary of Agriculture has the
authority to add other commodities to this list.
U.S. exporters currently provide information on the quantity of
their sales transactions, the type and class of commodity, the
marketing year of shipment, the destination, and shipment information
to include vessel name, quantity shipped, and bill of lading date for
bulk shipments of wheat, corn, soybeans, barley and sorghum, among
other things. They also report any changes in previously reported
information, such as cancellations and changes in destinations.
The ESRMS currently requires exporters to manually upload the
required data for Export Sales using form FAS 98. In addition,
exporters are required to submit form FAS 97 to report Optional Origin
Sales and related transactions and form FAS 100 to report Exports Made
for Exporters Own Account and related transactions. Reports of contract
terms shall be filed when requested, typically quarterly and annually,
on form FAS-99, ``Contract Terms Supporting Export Sales and Foreign
Purchases,'' and shall include the following:
(1) Reporting exporter's contract number.
(2) Date of export sale or purchase.
(3) Name of foreign buyer or foreign seller.
(4) Delivery period specified in the export sale or purchase.
(5) Delivery terms specified in the export sale or purchase
(F.O.B., C. & F., etc.).
(6) Actual quantity of the export sale or purchase.
(7) Quantity not exported against the sale or foreign purchase (do
not include any tolerance).
(8) Country of destination.
(9) On purchases from foreign sellers, show separately from export
sales all items of this paragraph.
ESRMS is being upgraded for the first time in over a decade. A
business process re-engineering approach was used to analyze and re-
design the functionalities and workflows of ESRMS and the Export Sales
Reporting (ESR) Query System from the ground up. Processes are being
re-structured to improve data quality and operational efficiency. The
re-design provides a single automated and consolidated system for all,
exporters, users, and USDA staff, to meet mission critical objectives
unlike the current systems which are separated into two applications,
one for exporters and USDA staff, and another for external users.
The new ESRMS proposes to collect contract-specific sales and
export data. The additional data reported will improve USDA's ability
to monitor and enforce compliance with reporting requirements and
improve the overall quality, reliability, timeliness, and
trustworthiness of the data. Contract-specific data will help USDA
reconcile export sales reporting with other USDA reports and Customs'
export data. Additionally, the contract data will improve USDA's
ability to validate the accuracy of reported sales and help identify
errant or missing sales and export data.
Although requiring contract-specific reports will increase the
number of entries that each exporter submits, the new ESRMS will
include an electronic data transfer option allowing exporters a bulk
electronic upload option for their export sales contract information
via pre-designed CSV or JSON files. The upload of export sales contract
information, rather than aggregate sales, provides the basic
information needed to track export sales from inception to export. The
new ESRMS is open for user testing for those registered exporters who
want to experience the usability of the new system at https://esrms.fas.usda.gov/. This bulk electronic data transfer of export sales
contract data will replace form FAS-99 Rev. 11-01,
[[Page 30945]]
Contract Terms Supporting Export Sales and Foreign Purchases, thus
creating a time savings later in the year. The new form to be used for
weekly Export Sales, Optional Origin Sales, and Export for Exporters
Own Account Sales is titled ``FAS-ESR Contract Data Upload form.'' A
copy of the form is provided with this package.
In addition to the data currently required to be submitted, FAS
proposes to require data on the following for all commodities reported:
(1) Contract terms (FAS, FOB C&F, etc.) including volumes,
destinations, buyers, and dates,
(2) Mode of transportation (e.g., ship, rail, truck, & container),
(3) Mode of transportation identifier (e.g., vessel name, rail
name, trucking company name), and
(4) Bill of Lading date.
While an initial increase in exporter administrative activity
associated with the addition of specific contract information via the
``FAS-ESR Contract Data Upload form'' is anticipated, the reporting
burden is expected to decline as export companies complete any
necessary modifications to their systems to allow their export sales
data to be transferred to the new ESRMS via the bulk upload option
using CSV or JSON files.
In the case of daily exports above the specified volumes, nothing
will change. Exporters will continue to report daily sales using the
existing procedures by sending a WORD document to the Export Sales
staff as is currently required.
Along with the FAS-ESR Contract Data Upload form, new electronic
data transfer forms for contract adjustments, exports, and shipment
information have been developed to ultimately decrease the exporters'
burden hours involved with entry of records into the new ESRMS. These
electronic data entry forms have been designed to reflect reporting
transaction types for export sales activities, optional origin
activities, and exports for exporters own account activities and
replace the need for forms FAS-97 Rev. 11-01, FAS-98 Rev. 11-01, and
FAS-100 Rev. 11-01. The proposed new forms include the following:
FAS-ESR New Contracts (Items 20, 110, 210)
FAS-ESR Contract Adjustments (Items 20, 40, 50, 110, 150, 240)
FAS-ESR Weekly Exports (Items 60, 230)
FAS-ESR Optional Origin Sales (Item 140)
Copies of the forms are provided with this package.
FAS held six open demonstrations of the upgraded ESRMS throughout
January, February, and March 2023, for exporters. The electronic data
transfer processes were presented and explained thoroughly. Additional
demonstrations, virtual training, and user acceptance testing will be
held throughout the second and third quarters of fiscal year 2023.
Participation in training and testing will assist responders to
adequately estimate the burden of reporting the requested information.
The estimated total annual burden may temporarily increase while
exporters are familiarizing themselves with the upgrades to ESRMS but
then is expected to decline as they take advantage of automated
uploading of information.
Estimate of Burden: The average burden, including the time for
reviewing instructions, gathering data needed, completing forms, and
record keeping is estimated to average 30 minutes once the exporters
are familiar with the new system and the bulk upload option.
Respondents: All exporters of wheat and wheat flour, feed grains,
oilseeds, cotton, rice, cattle hides and skins, beef, pork, and any
products thereof, and other commodities that the Secretary may
designate as produced in the United States.
Estimated number of respondents: 416.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 215.
Estimated Total Annual Reporting Burden: 44,720 hours.
Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Dacia
Rogers, the Agency Information Collection Coordinator, at
[email protected].
Request for Comments: Send comments regarding (a) whether the
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information
including validity of the methodology and assumption used; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to report, including through the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
All comments received in response to this notice, including names
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record.
Comments will be available without change, including any personal
information provided, for inspection online at https://www.regulations.gov and at the mail address listed above between 8 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission for OMB
approval.
Persons with disabilities who require an alternative means for
communication of information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)
should contact [email protected].
Daniel Whitley,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-10250 Filed 5-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P
