Direct Investment Surveys: BE-12, Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States

This final rule amends regulations of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to set forth the reporting requirements for the 2012 BE-12, Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States. The BE-12 survey is conducted every five years; the prior survey covered 2007. The benchmark survey covers the universe of foreign direct investment in the United States, and is BEA's most detailed survey of such investment. For the 2012 benchmark survey, BEA is changing reporting thresholds and data items collected, as well as changing the names and design of the survey forms. The changes are intended to align the data collection program for multinational companies with available resources and align the statistics on multinational companies with recent changes in financial accounting standards and international statistical standards.