22 U.S.C. § 3141: Congressional findings

Summary

Says the federal government gathers a lot of data about foreign-owned or controlled companies that operate in the United States and that more analysis and clearer presentation of that data would help public discussion about foreign investment. It notes the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s data are limited because they are collected by whole enterprises instead of by industry, and that useful comparisons can be done under sections 3101(b) and 3104(c) of this title and under Executive Order Numbered 11961 by sharing employer identification numbers kept by the Bureau. It warns that making confidential business data public could harm the accuracy of the statistics and that the Government Accountability Office may have only limited access to these data.

Title 22, §3141

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Congress makes the following findings:

(1)The United States Government collects substantial amounts of information from foreign owned or controlled business 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 analytical 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 section 3101(b) and 3104(c) of this title, and under Executive Order Numbered 11961, without the need to collect additional information, by sharing with other authorized Government agencies the employer identification numbers maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

(5)Public disclosures of confidential business information collected by the United States Government relating to international direct investment flows could cause serious damage to the accuracy of the statistical data base.

(6)The Government Accountability Office may have limited access to Government data on foreign direct investment.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Executive Order Numbered 11961, referred to in par. (4), is set out as a note under section 3101 of this title.

Amendments

2004—Par. (6). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 101–533, § 1, Nov. 7, 1990, 104 Stat. 2344, provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter and section 401 of Title 13, Census, and amending section 3101 and 3103 to 3105 of this title and section 9 of Title 13] may be cited as the ‘Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990’.”

§3141 Congressional Findings