Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 182 / Thursday, September 18, 2008 / Proposed Rules 54095 

§ 71.1 [Amended] 

2. The incorporation by reference in 

14 CFR 71.1 of Federal Aviation 

Administration Order 7400.9R, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, 

signed August 15, 2007, and effective 

September 15, 2007, is to be amended 

as follows: 

* * * * * 

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Extending 

Upward from 700 Feet or More Above the 

Surface of the Earth. 

* * * * * 

AAL AK E5 Badami, AK [Revised] 

Badami, Badami Airport, AK 

(Lat. 70°08′15′′ N., long. 147°01′49′′ W.) 

That airspace extending upward from 700 

feet above the surface within a 6.5-mile 

radius of the Badami Airport; and that 

airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet 

above the surface within a 73-mile radius of 

the Badami Airport. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Anchorage, AK, on September 9, 

2008. 

Marshall G. Severson, 

Acting Manager, Alaska Flight Services 

Information Area Group. 

[FR Doc. E8–21781 Filed 9–17–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Economic Analysis 

15 CFR Part 801 

[Docket No. 0807311000–81013–01] 

RIN 0691–AA67 

International Services Surveys: BE– 

150, Quarterly Survey of Cross-Border 

Credit, Debit, and Charge Card 

Transactions 

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule amends 

regulations of the Bureau of Economic 

Analysis, Department of Commerce 

(BEA) to set forth the reporting 

requirements for a new mandatory 

survey entitled the BE–150, Quarterly 

Survey of Cross-Border Credit, Debit, 

and Charge Card Transactions. The 

proposed survey would collect from 

major U.S. credit card companies data 

on cross-border credit, debit, and charge 

card transactions between U.S. 

cardholders traveling abroad and foreign 

businesses and between foreign 

cardholders traveling in the United 

States and U.S. businesses. If approved, 

the BE–150 survey would be conducted 

on a quarterly basis beginning with the 

first quarter of 2009. 

The proposed BE–150 survey data 

will be used by BEA in estimating the 

travel component of the U.S. 

International Transactions Accounts 

(ITAs). In constructing the estimates, 

these data will be used in conjunction 

with data BEA will collect separately 

from U.S. and foreign travelers on the 

Survey of International Travel 

Expenditures on the methods these 

travelers used to pay for their 

international travel, such as credit, 

debit, and charge card purchases, cash 

withdrawals, currency brought from 

home, and travelers’ checks. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule 

will receive consideration if submitted 

in writing on or before 5 p.m. November 

17, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0691–AA67, and 

referencing the agency name (Bureau of 

Economic Analysis), by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

For agency, select ‘‘Commerce 

Department—all.’’ 

• E-mail: 

Christopher.Emond@bea.gov. 

• Fax: Chris Emond, Chief, Special 

Surveys Branch, (202) 606–5318. 

• Mail: Chris Emond, Chief, Special 

Surveys Branch, Balance of Payments 

Division, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

Bureau of Economic Analysis, BE–50, 

Washington, DC 20230. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Chris 

Emond, Chief, Special Surveys Branch, 

Balance of Payments Division, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Bureau of 

Economic Analysis, BE–50, Shipping 

and Receiving Section, M100, 1441 L 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in the proposed 

rule should be sent both to BEA, 

through any of the methods listed 

above, and to the Office of Management 

and Budget, O.I.R.A., Paperwork 

Reduction Project, Attention PRA Desk 

Officer for BEA, via e-mail at 

pbugg@omb.eop.gov, or by FAX at 202– 

395–7245. 

Public Inspection: All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the 

commentator may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit confidential 

business information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. BEA 

will accept anonymous comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chris Emond, Chief, Special Surveys 

Branch, Balance of Payments Division 

(BE–50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 

Washington, DC 20230; e-mail 

Christopher.Emond@bea.gov; or phone 

(202) 606–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed rule would amend 15 CFR 

Part 801.9 to add the reporting 

requirements for a new mandatory 

survey entitled BE–150, Quarterly 

Survey of Cross-Border Credit, Debit, 

and Charge Card Transactions. The 

Department of Commerce, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to comment on proposed and/ 

or continuing information collections, 

as required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995. 

Description of Changes 

The proposed BE–150 survey would 

be a mandatory survey that would be 

conducted by BEA, beginning with 

transactions for the first quarter of 2009, 

under the International Investment and 

Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 

3101–3108), hereinafter, ‘‘the Act.’’ For 

the initial quarter of coverage, BEA 

would send the survey to potential 

respondents in March of 2009; 

responses would be due by April 30, 

2009. 

BEA maintains a continuing dialogue 

with respondents and with data users, 

including its own internal users, to 

ensure that, as far as possible, the 

required data serve their intended 

purposes and are available from the 

existing records, that instructions are 

clear, and that unreasonable burdens are 

not imposed. In reaching decisions on 

what questions to include in the survey, 

BEA considered the Government’s need 

for the data, the burden imposed on 

respondents, the quality of the likely 

responses (for example, whether the 

data are available on respondents’ 

books), and BEA’s experience in 

previous annual and quarterly surveys. 

If implemented, the BE–150 survey 

would collect from the U.S. credit card 

companies data covering cross-border 

credit, debit, and charge card 

transactions between U.S. cardholders 

traveling abroad and foreign businesses 

and between foreign cardholders 

traveling in the United States and U.S. 

businesses—by country of the 

transaction (for U.S. cardholders) or by 

country of residency of the cardholder 


dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS
54096 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 182 / Thursday, September 18, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

(for foreign cardholders). Credit card 

companies that operate networks used 

to clear and settle credit card 

transactions between issuing banks and 

acquiring banks would be responsible 

for reporting on this survey. Issuing 

banks, acquiring banks, and individual 

cardholders would not be required to 

report. Data would be collected by the 

type of transaction, by type of card, by 

spending category, and by country. Data 

on credit card transactions of U.S. 

cardholders traveling abroad and foreign 

cardholders traveling in the United 

States would be collected at an 

aggregate level from the U.S. credit card 

companies; data on the transactions of 

individuals would not be collected. 

Survey Background 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, 

would conduct the survey under the 

International Investment and Trade in 

Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101– 

3108), hereinafter, ‘‘the Act.’’ Section 

4(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103(a)) 

provides that the President shall, to the 

extent he deems necessary and feasible, 

conduct a regular data collection 

program to secure current information 

related to international investment and 

trade in services and publish for the use 

of the general public and United States 

Government agencies periodic, regular, 

and comprehensive statistical 

information collected pursuant to this 

subsection. 

In section 3 of Executive Order 11961, 

as amended by Executive Orders 12318 

and 12518, the President delegated the 

responsibilities under the Act for 

performing functions concerning 

international trade in services to the 

Secretary of Commerce, who has 

redelegated them to BEA. 

The survey would provide a basis for 

compiling the travel account of the 

United States international transactions 

accounts. In constructing the estimates, 

these data would be used in conjunction 

with data BEA will collect separately 

from U.S. and foreign travelers on the 

Survey of International Travel 

Expenditures on the methods these 

travelers used to pay for international 

travel expenditures. With the two data 

sources, BEA would be able to estimate 

total expenditures by foreign travelers in 

the United States (U.S. exports) and 

total expenditures by U.S. travelers 

abroad (U.S. imports) by country and 

region. 

Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of E.O. 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 

This proposed rule does not contain 

policies with Federalism implications 

sufficient to warrant preparation of a 

Federalism Assessment under E.O. 

13132. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to review and approval by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. The requirement will be submitted 

to OMB as a request for a new collection 

of information. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act unless that collection 

displays a currently valid Office of 

Management and Budget Control 

Number. 

The BE–150 quarterly survey, as 

proposed, is expected to result in the 

filing of reports from four respondents 

on a quarterly basis, or 16 reports 

annually. The respondent burden for 

this collection of information would 

vary from one respondent to another, 

but is estimated to average 16 hours per 

response (64 hours annually), including 

time for reviewing the instructions, 

searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection of information. Thus, the 

total respondent burden for the BE–150 

survey is estimated at 260 hours. 

Comments are requested concerning: 

(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 burden estimate; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information collected; 

and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on the 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in the proposed 

rule should be sent to both BEA and 

OMB following the instructions given in 

the ADDRESSES section above. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation, 

Department of Commerce, has certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, 

Small Business Administration, under 

provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that this proposed 

rulemaking, if adopted, will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

BEA estimates that this rule will not 

have an impact on any small entities as 

the BE–150 survey is mandatory for 

only those U.S. credit card companies 

that operate networks used to clear and 

settle credit card transactions between 

issuing banks and acquiring banks. BEA 

estimates that there are only four U.S. 

credit card companies that are subject to 

this rule. Of the four companies, none 

is considered to be a small entity under 

the Small Business Administration’s 

Table of Small Business Size Standards. 

All four companies are corporations that 

exceed the maximum annual revenue 

threshold to be considered a small 

entity. Because there are no small 

businesses that are subject to reporting, 

the Chief Counsel for Regulation 

certifies that this proposed rule would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801 

International transactions, Economic 

statistics, Foreign trade, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Travel expenses, CrossBorder transactions, Credit card, and 

Debit card. 

Dated: September 8, 2008. 

J. Steven Landefeld, 

Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 

CFR part 801, as follows: 

PART 801—SURVEY OF 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES 

BETWEEN U.S. AND FOREIGN 

PERSONS 

1. The authority citation for 15 CFR 

part 801 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 

U.S.C. 3101–3108; and E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 

1977 Comp., p.86, as amended by E.O. 12318, 

3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173, and E.O. 12518, 

3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p 348. 

2. Amend § 801.9 by adding 

paragraph (c)(7): 

§ 801.9 Reports required. 

(c) Quarterly surveys. * * * 

(7) BE–150, Quarterly Survey of 

Cross-Border Credit, Debit, and Charge 

Card Transactions: 

(i) A BE–150, Quarterly Survey of 

Cross-Border Credit, Debit, and Charge 

Card Transactions will be conducted 

covering the first quarter of the 2009 


dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 182 / Thursday, September 18, 2008 / Proposed Rules 54097 

1 69 FR 39880. 

2Public Law 106–554, 114 Stat. 2763 (2000). 

Under the CFMA, such DCM rules may be effected 

by the certification procedures set forth in section 

5c(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act and 40.6 of 

the Commission’s regulations. 

3Regulation 1.38 was originally adopted in 1953 

by the Commodity Exchange Authority, the 

predecessor of the Commission. See 18 FR 176 (Jan. 

19, 1953). For subsequent amendments, see 31 FR 

5054 (Mar. 29, 1966), 41 FR 3191 (Jan. 21, 1976, eff. 

Feb. 20, 1976), and 46 FR 54500 (Nov. 3, 1981, eff. 

Dec. 3, 1981). 

4The CFMA was intended, in part, ‘‘to promote 

innovation for futures and derivatives.’’ § 2 of the 

CFMA. It was also intended ‘‘to reduce systemic 

risk,’’ and ‘‘to transform the role of the 

[Commission] to oversight of the futures markets.’’ 

Id. 

5 7 U.S.C. § 5 (2000). 

6See Section 7(b)(3) of the Act. 

7See 66 FR 14262 (Mar. 9, 2001) and 66 FR 42256 

(Aug. 10, 2001). 

8See 67 FR 20702 (Apr. 26, 2002) and 67 FR 

62873 (Oct. 9, 2002). 

calendar year and every quarter 

thereafter. 

(A) Who must report. A BE–150 report 

is required from each U.S. company that 

operates networks for clearing and 

settling credit card transactions made by 

U.S. cardholders in foreign countries 

and by foreign cardholders in the 

United States. Each reporting company 

must complete all applicable parts of 

the BE–150 form before transmitting it 

to BEA. Issuing banks, acquiring banks, 

and individual cardholders are not 

required to report. 

(B) Covered Transactions. The BE– 

150 survey collects aggregate 

information on the use of credit, debit, 

and charge cards by U.S. cardholders 

when traveling abroad and foreign 

cardholders when traveling in the 

United States. Data are collected by the 

type of transaction, by type of card, by 

spending category, and by country. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. E8–21896 Filed 9–17–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–06–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Parts 1 and 38 

Execution of Transactions: Regulation 

1.38 and Guidance on Core Principle 9 

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rules. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or 

‘‘CFTC’’) is re-proposing a number of 

amendments to its rules, guidance and 

acceptable practices, initially proposed 

on July 1, 2004,1 concerning trading off 

the centralized market, including the 

addition of guidance on contract market 

block trading rules and exchanges of 

futures for commodities or derivatives 

positions. The Commission is reproposing these amendments and 

requesting comment as part of its 

continuing efforts to update its 

regulations in light of the Commodity 

Futures Modernization Act of 2000 

(‘‘CFMA’’). 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

November 17, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to 

the Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 

1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20581, attention: Office of the 

Secretariat. Comments may be sent by 

facsimile transmission to 202–418–5521 

or, by e-mail to secretary@cftc.gov. 

Reference should be made to ‘‘Proposed 

Rules for Trading Off the Centralized 

Market.’’ Comments may also be 

submitted by connecting to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov and following 

comment submission instructions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gabrielle A. Sudik, Special Counsel, 

Division of Market Oversight; 

Telephone 202–418–5171; e-mail 

gsudik@cftc.gov; Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission, Three Lafayette 

Center, 1155 21st Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20581. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Commission Regulation 1.38 (17 CFR 

1.38) sets forth a requirement that all 

purchases and sales of a commodity for 

future delivery or a commodity option 

on or subject to the rules of a designated 

contract market (‘‘DCM’’) should be 

executed by open and competitive 

methods. This ‘‘open and competitive’’ 

requirement is modified by a proviso 

that allows transactions to be executed 

in a ‘‘non-competitive’’ manner if the 

transaction is in compliance with DCM 

rules specifically providing for the noncompetitive execution of such 

transactions, and such rules have been 

submitted to, and approved by, the 

Commission. 

The Commodity Futures 

Modernization Act of 2000 (‘‘CFMA’’),2

which was enacted after Regulation 1.38 

was promulgated,3 significantly 

changed the Federal regulation of 

commodity futures and option markets 

by replacing ‘‘one-size-fits-all’’ 

regulation with broad, flexible core 

principles.4 At the same time, the 

CFMA modified section 3 of the 

Commodity Exchange Act (‘‘Act’’) (7 

U.S.C. 1 et seq.), making a finding that 

transactions subject to the Act provide 

‘‘a means for managing and assuming 

price risks, discovering prices, or 

disseminating pricing information 

through trading in liquid, fair and 

financially secure trading facilities,’’ 

and providing that the purpose of the 

Act is now, among other things, ‘‘to 

deter and prevent price manipulation or 

any other disruptions to market 

integrity; to ensure the financial 

integrity of all transactions subject to 

this Act and the avoidance of systemic 

risk; to protect all market participants 

from fraudulent or other abusive sales 

practices and misuses of customer 

assets. * * * ’’ 5 The CFMA also 

expanded the types of transactions that 

could lawfully be executed off the 

centralized market. Specifically, the 

CFMA permits DCMs to establish 

trading rules that: (1) Authorize the 

exchange of futures for swaps; or (2) 

allow a futures commission merchant, 

acting as principal or agent, to enter into 

or confirm the execution of a contract 

for the purchase or sale of a commodity 

for future delivery if the contract is 

reported, recorded, or cleared in 

accordance with the rules of a contract 

market or derivatives clearing 

organization.6 At the same time, 

exchanges must balance such rules with 

Core Principle 9 (7 U.S.C. 5(d)(9)) 

(Execution of transactions), which states 

‘‘The board of trade shall provide a 

competitive, open, and efficient market 

and mechanism for executing 

transactions.’’ 

In 2001, the Commission promulgated 

regulations implementing provisions of 

the CFMA that established procedures 

relating to trading facilities, interpreted 

certain of the CFMA’s provisions, and 

provided guidance on compliance with 

various of its requirements.7 Later, in 

2002, the Commission promulgated 

amendments to those regulations in 

response to issues that had arisen in 

administering the rules, noting that the 

Commission would consider 

‘‘additional amendments to the rules 

implementing the CFMA based upon 

further administrative experience.’’ 8

Consistent with that rationale, the 

Commission now proposes to amend 

Commission Regulation 1.38 and 

Commission guidance and acceptable 

practices concerning Core Principle 9 as 

it relates to Commission Regulation 1.38 

to include changes that the Commission 

has developed based upon its 

experience administering those 

provisions. 


dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS