Census Issues Pre-Rule on Removing EEI Filing Requirements for Shipments to Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands

The Census Bureau issued its advance notice of proposed rulemaking on removing filing requirements for shipments between the U.S. and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 2009150045 and 2006030043). The agency is seeking comments on the impact of no longer requiring Electronic Export Information filings for those shipments, which the Puerto Rican government and other international traders have requested for “many years,” Census said in a notice released Sept. 16. Comments are due Nov. 16.

Removing the EEI requirements, which the Census Bureau has considered since at least March (see 2003100054), would eliminate filing burdens and may encourage more trade between the U.S. and the two territories, the bureau said. Puerto Rico has argued that the requirements treat the island like a “foreign country” and that that “discourages” manufacturers in the 50 U.S. states from shipping to the territory, impeding its “economic development.”

But Census said removing the EEI requirements would also eliminate the agency’s main source for a range of “key federal statistics” for the territory, including export trade numbers. The data is used to calculate gross domestic product, which would be “significantly compromised” without the statistics from the EEI filings in the Automated Export System, Census said. The agency also said the statistics are important for other government agencies, such as the Department of Energy, which tracks U.S.-Puerto Rico petroleum trade. “There is currently no other source of information or method for tracking trade flows of oil and other energy-related commodities,” Census said.

The agency said it does not have other sources to gather data on Puerto Rico because the island is not included in many Census surveys. But the agency said it is “exploring options” to include Puerto Rico in those surveys to “mitigate the significant loss of information” about its economy “that would result from eliminating the filing requirement.” Even so, including the territory in those surveys would still not “result in the same data set that is currently available,” the agency said.

Census is looking for industry feedback on whether “alternative datasets” are available that can be used in place of the EEI filings, and which trade statistics are “most relevant.” The agency also wants feedback on replacing statistics involving trade with the U.S. Virgin Islands. Census also asked for comments on other impacts resulting from removing the filing requirements, including its effect on the trade community.