Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990
PL 101-533 (S.2516), enacted 11/07/1990

104 STAT. 2344 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
Public Law 101-
101st Congress 
533 
Nov. 7, 1990 
[S. 2516] 
Foreign Direct 
Investment and 
International 
Financial Data 
Improvements 
Act of 1990. 
Business and 
industry. 
22 u s e 3141 
note. 
22 u s e 3141. 
22 u s e 3142. 
An Act 
To augment and improve the quality of international data compiled by the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis under the International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act by allowing that agency to share statistical establishment list informa-
tion compiled by the Bureau of the Census, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the "Foreign Direct Investment and 
International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The United States Government collects substantial 
amounts of information from foreign owned or controlled busi-
ness 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 analj^-
ical 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 sections 20?) and 
5(c) of the International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act, and under Executive Order Numbered 11961, with-
out the need to collect additional information, by sharing with 
other authorized Government agencies the employer identifica-
tion numbers maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 
(5) Public disclosures of confidential business information 
collected by the United States Government relating to inter-
national direct investment flows could cause serious damage to 
the accuracy of the statistical data base. 
(6) The General Accounting Office may have limited access to 
Government data on foreign direct investment. 
SEC. 3. REPORT BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE 
UNITED STATES.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and not later than the end of each 1-year 
period occurring thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on 
Ways and Means, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives, to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
49-139 O - 90 (533) 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
104 STAT. 2345 
and Transportation of the Senate, and to the Joint EJconomic 
Committee of the Congress a report on the role and significance of 
foreign direct investment in the United States. Such report shall 
address the history, scope, trends, market concentrations, and ef-
fects on the United States economy of such investment. In addition, 
the Secretary of Commerce shall, if requested by any such commit-
tee, appear before that committee to provide testimony with respect 
to any report under this subsection. 
(b) SOURCES OF DATA.—In preparing each report under subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary's designees, shall 
consider information collected by— 
(1) the Bureau of Economic Analysis under the International 
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101 
and following); 
(2) the Bureau of the Census on industry, manufacturing, 
research and development, and trade, under title 13, United 
States Code; 
(3) the Bureau of Labor Statistics pertaining to information 
collected under the International Investment and Trade in 
Services Survey Act, but only to the extent that such informa-
tion is in a form that cannot be associated with, or otherwise 
identify, directly or indirectly, a person, including any enter-
prise or establishment; 
(4) the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary's designee 
pursuant to section 2 of Executive Order 11858 of May 7, 1975; 
(5) the United States Department of Agriculture under the 
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 
U.S.C. 3501 and following); 
(6) the Department of the Treasury under section 6039C of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6039C), but only to the 
extent that such information is in a form that cannot be associ-
ated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a person, 
including any enterprise or establishment; 
(7) the Department of Energy under section 657(8) of the 
Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7267(8)), but 
only to the extent that such information is in a form that 
cannot be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or 
indirectly, a person, including any enterprise or establishment; 
(8) other Federal agencies not referred to in paragraphs (1) 
through (7), but only to the extent that such information is in a 
form that cannot be associated with, or otherwise identify, 
directly or indirectly, a person, including any enterprise or 
establishment; 
(9) foreign governments and agencies thereof; and 
(10) private sector sources. 
(c) ANALYSES.—(1) The analysis in each report prepared under 
subsection (a) shall, to the extent of available data, compare busi-
ness enterprises controlled by foreign persons with other business 
enterprises in the United States with respect to employment, 
market share, value added, productivity, research and development, 
exports, imports, profitability, taxes paid, and investment incentives 
and services provided by State and local governments (including 
quasi-governmental entities). 
(2) Each such analysis shall be done by significant industry sectors 
and geographical regions, except that information shall not be 
presented in a way in which any person, including any business 
enterprise or establishment, can be identified. The restriction con-
104 STAT. 2346 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
tained in the preceding sentence on presentation of information does 
not apply to information that is obtained from foreign governments 
or agencies thereof and that has been pubUshed pursuant to the 
lawful disclosure of the information. To the extent that data are 
available, each such analysis shall include an analysis, together 
with current levels and trends, of the number and market share of 
business enterprises at least 10 percent of the voting securities or 
other evidences of ownership of which are owned or controlled by a 
foreign person, and of the number and market share of the 
establishments of such business enterprises, that are engaged 
substantially in the production or coproduction of any critical tech-
nologies included in the most recent plan submitted to the Congress 
under section 2368 of title 10, United States Code, or included in the 
most recent report submitted to the President under section 603 of 
the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and 
Priorities Act of 1976. 
22 use 3143. 
SEC. 4. REPORTS BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General, to the extent per-
mitted by law, including section 8 of this Act, is authorized to review 
the information described in section 30)) for purposes of preparing 
the report required under subsection (b) of this section. Nothing in 
this section authorizes disclosure of any individually identifiable 
data or information in any form that can be associated with or 
otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, any person, including any 
enterprise or establishment. 
Qo) REPORT.—Not later than 5 months after each report issued by 
the Secretary of Commerce under section 3, the Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate, and to the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress a 
report— 
(1) analyzing the report of the Secretary of Commerce; 
(2) making recommendations for changes in the analysis done 
in the report due the following year under section 3; 
(3) making recommendations for improving the collection by 
respective Federal agencies of data on foreign direct investment 
in the United States, including use of private sector data, and 
improving survey questionnaires to obtain useful and consistent 
information that avoids unnecessary redundancy among Fed-
ergil agencies; 
(4) reviewing the status and processes for reconciliation of 
data exchanged as required by this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act, and making any recommendations for 
improving and augmenting international financial data; 
(5) making recommendations for possible additional policy 
coordination within the executive branch affecting foreign 
direct investment in the United States; and 
(6) making recommendations for improvement of the cov-
erage, industry classification, and consistency among Federal 
Eigencies of their respective surveys. 
Reports under this subsection shall be issued only with respect to 
the first 3 reports issued by the Secretary of Commerce under 
• section 3. 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
104 STAT. 2347 
(c) OTHER REVIEWS AND REPORTS.—(1) The Comptroller General 
may, to the extent permitted by law, including section 5(c) of the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 
U.S.C. 3104(c)) and section 8 of this Act, also review data and 
information at the Bureau of the (Census, the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis and from time to 
time report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the 
Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and to the Joint 
Economic (Dommittee of the (Dongress. 
(2) The C!omptroller General shall, in carrying out paragraph (1), 
comply with procedures relating to access to and disclosure of data 
and information established within the Federal statistical agencies 
referred to in paragraph (1), and maintain any and all individually 
identifiable data and information at the statistical agency where the 
information is reviewed. 
(d) CONFIDENTIALITY; REVIEW BY OTHER AGENCIES.—In preparing 
any report under this section, the Comptroller General shall not— 
(1) disclose any confidential business information or present 
any information in a way in which any person, including a 
business enterprise or establishment, can be identified; or 
(2) combine, match, or use in any other way individually 
identifiable data or information maintained by any of the Fed-
eral statistical agencies referred to in subsection (c) with any 
other individually identifiable confidential data or information 
that is not collected by such statistical agencies. 
Before issuing any such report, the Comptroller General shall in 
each instance submit the report to the head or heads of the agency 
or agencies from which confidential or identifiable information 
described in the preceding sentence was obtained. The agency or 
agencies concerned shall promptly review the report for the purpose 
of assuring that the confidentiality of such information and identity 
is maintained, and for any other purpose, and shall provide the 
Comptroller (Jeneral with appropriate comments or other sugges-
tions within 10 working days after receiving the report. 
(e) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—The access by the Comptroller General to 
information under this Act shall be in conformity with section 716 of 
title 31, United States Code. 
SEC. 5. ACCESS TO CENSUS DATA BY BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. 
(a) ACCESS TO DATA.—Title 13, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
"CHAPTER 10—EXCHANGE OF CENSUS 
INFORMATION 
"Sec. 
"401. Exchange of census information with Bureau of Economic Analjrsis. 
"§ 401. Exchange of census information with Bureau of Economic 
Analysis. 
"(a) EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION.—The Bureau of the Census shall 
exchange with the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department 
of Commerce information collected under this title, and under the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, that 
pertains to any business enterprise that is operating in the United 
104 STAT. 2348 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
States, if the Secretary of Commerce determines such information is 
appropriate to augment and improve the quality of data collected 
under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey 
Act. Information provided to the Bureau of Economic Analysis by 
the Bureau of the Census shall be only those data collected directly 
from respondents by the Bureau of the Census. 
"Ob) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.—The Director of the Bureau 
requesting information under this section shall make the request in 
writing and shall certify that the information will be used only for 
statistical activities performed to improve the quality of data col-
lected under the authority of title 13, United States Code, and the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. 
"(c) DEFINITION.—As used in subsection (a), the terms 'business 
enterprise' and 'United States' have the meanings given those terms 
in section 3 of the International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act.". 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The table of chapters at the 
beginning of title 13, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
"10. Exchange of census information 
401". 
(2) Section 9(a) of title 13, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after "section 8" the following: "or chapter 10". 
SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT AND TRADE 
IN SERVICES SURVEY ACT. 
(A) PURPOSE.—Section 2(b) of the International Investment and 
Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C 3101(b)) is amended by 
inserting after "the impact of such investment and trade," in the 
first sentence the following: "to authorize the collection and use of 
information on direct investments owned or controlled directly or 
indirectly by foreign governments or persons,". 
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 4(a)(5) of the International 
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3103(a)(5)) is 
amended by inserting before the period the following: ", including, 
with respect to foreign direct investment in the United States, 
information on ownership by foreign governments of United States 
affiliates by country, and tables, on an aggregated basis, of business 
enterprises the ownership or control of which by foreign persons is 
more than 50 percent of the voting securities or other evidences of 
ownership of such enterprises, and business enterprises the owner-
ship or control of which by foreign persons is 50 percent or less 
of the voting securities or other evidences of ownership of such 
enterprises". 
(c) BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS REPORT.—Section 4 of 
the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 
U.S.C. 3103) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
"(h)(1) The President, or the designee of the President responsible 
for monitoring the impact of foreign investment in the United 
States, coordinating implementation of United States policy on 
investment, and investigating foreign acquisitions under section 721 
of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 App. U.S.C. 2170), may 
request a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the 
Department of Commerce. When such request is made in connection 
with an investigation under such section 721, the report shall be 
provided within 14 days after the request is made. When such 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
104 STAT. 2349 
request is not made in connection with an investigation under such 
section 721, the report shall be provided within 60 days after the 
request. 
"(2) A report requested under paragraph (1) shall contain the best 
available information on the extent of foreign direct investment in a 
given industry, including a breakdown of total investment in the 
industry, and any foreign government investment in the industry, 
by country of the foreign owner, and any other information that the 
Bureau of Economic Analysis or such designee of the President 
considers relevant. The industry information provided shall be at 
the most detailed level available of Standard Industrial Classifica-
tion, subject to the requirements of section 5.". 
(d) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—Section 5 of the International 
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3104) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: 
"(d) The Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce is 
authorized, for purposes of augmenting and improving the quality of \ 
data collected by the Bureau of the Census, to have, upon written 
request, access to data relating to business enterprises that is col-
lected directly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for purposes of 
this Act. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 
is authorized, for purposes of augmenting and improving the data 
collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to have access, upon 
written request, to selected identification information on business 
enterprises and data on international services transactions, that is 
collected directly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for purposes 
of this Act. Officers and employees of the Bureau of the Census and 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall, for purposes of subsection (c), be 
deemed to be officials or employees designated to perform functions 
under this Act.". 
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 5 of the International 
Investment and Trade in Services Survev Act is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(2) by striking (d)" and inserting "(e)"; and 
(2) in subsection (e), as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this 
section, by inserting "or (d)" after "(c)". 
SEC. 7. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TIMELY REPORTING. 
(a) AFFIRMATION BY A RESPONSIBLE OFFICER.—Section 5(b) of the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 
U.S.C. 3104(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
"When a report under paragraph (2) is furnished under oath, such 
oath shall be by the officer of such person who is directly responsible 
for the maintenance and compilation of such information, and shall 
certify that the report was prepared in accordance with this Act, is 
complete, and is to such officer s best knowledge and belief, substan-
tially accurate, except in a case in which, in accordance with rules 
and regulations issued under this Act, estimates have been provided 
because data are not available from customary accounting records 
or precise data could not be obtained without undue burden, and the 
data subject to such estimates has been noted in the report.". 
(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 6(a) of the International Investment 
and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3105(a)) is amended by 
striking "may be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000" 
and inserting "shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than 
$2,500, and not more than $25,000,". 
104 STAT. 2350 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
22 use 3144. 
SEC. 8. ACCESS TO INFORMATION; CONFIDENTIALITY. 
(a) CoNFiDENTiAUTY.—(1) Those officers and employees who have 
access to information under this Act to which the provisions of 
section 9 of title 13, United States Code, apply must have been 
sworn, as provided for in section 23(c) of such title, to observe the 
limitations imposed by section 9(a) of such title and to be subject to 
the provisions of section 214 of such title to the same extent as such 
section applies to officers or employees of the Bureau of the Census. 
(2) Only those officers and employees who have sworn to observe 
the provisions of section 5(c) of the International Investment and 
Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3104(c)) may have access 
under this Act to information to which such provisions apply, and 
such officers and employees are subject to the penalties for improper 
disclosure of such information provided in section 5(e) of that Act to 
the same extent as such section applies to officers or employees 
designated to perform functions under that Act. 
(3) Those officers and employees referred to in paragraphs (1) and 
(2) of this section shall be subject to any other restriction or penalty 
imposed by law with respect to disclosure of information to which 
such officers or employees have access under this Act. 
(b) VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES.—Whoever is in possession of 
information made available to any department or agency by virtue 
of this Act or the amendments made by this Act and discloses the 
information in any form which can be associated with, or otherwise 
identify, any person, including any business enterprise or establish-
ment, shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more than $25,000 or 
imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 
(c) UNLAWFUL ACCESS.—Whoever procures, by fraud, misrepresen-
tation, or other unlawful act, access to information made available 
to any department or agency by virtue of this Act or the amend-
ments made by this Act shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more 
than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 
(d) INFORMATION IMMUNE FROM PROCESS.—Information obtained 
under this Act shall be immune from legal process and shall not be 
used as evidence or for any purpose in any Federal, State, or local 
government action, suit, or other administrative or judicial proceed-
ing except as necessary to enforce requirements imposed by law on 
the collection of information, to enforce the provisions of subsections 
(b) and (c). 
(e) IMPLEMENTATION.—(1) The Secretary of Commerce shall be 
responsible for the implementation of the exchange of information 
under this Act between the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, and shall resolve any questions on access to 
information, data, or methodology that may arise between the 
Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, except 
that the Secretary shall not construe this section in a manner which 
would prevent the augmentation and improvement of the quality of 
international data collected under the International Investment and 
Trade in Services Survey Act. The Bureau of Economic Analysis and 
the Bureau of the Census shall agree in writing to the data to be 
shared under this Act. 
(2) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall be 
responsible for the implementation of the exchange of information 
under this Act betwef n the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and shall resolve any questions on access 
to information, data, or methodology that may arise between the 
PUBLIC LAW 101-533—NOV. 7, 1990 
104 STAT. 2351 
Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
except that the Director shall not construe this section in a manner 
which would prevent the augmentation and improvement of the 
quality of international data collected under the International 
Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. 
SEC. 9. CONSTRUCTION OF THE ACT. 
22 USC 3145. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by 
this Act shall be construed to require any business enterprise or any 
of its officers, directors, shareholders, or employees, or any other 
person, to provide information beyond that which is required before 
the enactment of this Act. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—All departments and agencies implement-
ing this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall, with 
respect to surveys or questionnaires used in such implementation— 
(1) eliminate questions that are no longer necessary, 
(2) cooperate with one another in order to ensure that ques-
tions asked are consistent among the departments and agencies, 
and 
(3) develop new questions in order to obtain more refined 
statistics and analyses, 
consistent with the purposes of the provisions of law amended by 
this Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. 
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 
22 USC 3146. 
For purposes of this Act— 
(1) the terms "foreign", "direct investment", "international 
investment", "United States", "business enterprise", "foreign 
person", and "United States person" have the meanings given 
those terms in section 3 of the International Investment and 
Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3102); and 
(2) the term "foreign direct investment in the United States" 
means direct investment by foreign persons in any business 
enterprise that is a United States person. 
Approved November 7, 1990. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2516 (H.R. 4520): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 101-855, Pt. 1 (Coram, on Foreign Affairs) and Ft. 2 (Comm. on 
Energy and Commerce), both accompanjdng H.R. 4520. 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 101-443 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990): 
Oct. 18, considered and passed Senate. 
Oct. 23, considered and passed House. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 26 (1990): 
Nov. 7, Presidential statement.