13 U.S.C. § 301: Collection and publication

The Secretary is authorized to collect information from all persons exporting from, or importing into, the United States and the noncontiguous areas over which the United States exercises sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control, and from all persons engaged in trade between the United States and such noncontiguous areas and between those areas, or from the owners, or operators of carriers engaged in such foreign commerce or trade, and shall compile and publish such information pertaining to exports, imports, trade, and transportation relating thereto, as he deems necessary or appropriate to enable him to foster, promote, develop, and further the commerce, domestic and foreign, of the United States and for other lawful purposes. net quantity; United States customs value; purchase price or its equivalent; equivalent of arm’s length value; aggregate cost from port of exportation to United States port of entry; a United States port of entry value comprised of (5) plus (4), if applicable, or, if not applicable, (5) plus (3); and for transactions where (3) and (4) are equal, the total value of such transactions. the value of agricultural commodities exported under the Food for Peace Act, as amended; and the total amount of all export subsidies paid to exporters by the United States under such Act for the exportation of such commodities; and the value of goods exported under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. the Secretary of Agriculture shall furnish information to the Secretary concerning the value of agricultural commodities exported under provisions of the Food for Peace Act, as amended, and the total amounts of all export subsidies paid to exporters by the United States under such Act for the exportation of such commodities; and the Secretary of State shall furnish information to the Secretary concerning the value of goods exported under the provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. There shall be reported, on monthly and cumulative bases, for each heading or subheading in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated for Statistical Reporting Purposes, the United States port of entry value (as determined under subsection (b)(6)). There shall be reported, on monthly and cumulative bases, the balance of international trade for the United States reflecting (1) the aggregate value of all United States imports as reported in accordance with the first sentence of this subsection, and (2) the aggregate value of all United States exports. The information required to be reported under this subsection shall be reported in a form that is adjusted for economic inflation or deflation (on a constant dollar basis consistent with the reporting of the National Income and Product Accounts), and in a form that is not so adjusted. On or before January 1, 1981 , and as often thereafter as may be necessary to reflect significant changes in rates, there shall be reported for each heading or subheading in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated for Statistical Reporting Purposes, the ad valorem or ad valorem equivalent rate of duty which would have been required to be imposed on dutiable imports under that heading or subheading, if the United States customs values of such imports were based on the United States port of entry value (as reported in accordance with the first sentence of subsection (e)) in order to collect the same amount of duties on imports under that heading or subheading as are currently collected. Shippers’ Export Declarations (or any successor document), wherever located, shall be exempt from public disclosure unless the Secretary determines that such exemption would be contrary to the national interest. The Secretary is authorized to require by regulation the filing of Shippers’ Export Declarations under this chapter through an automated and electronic system for the filing of export information established by the Department of the Treasury. Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act, and the amendments made by this Act [amending this section and enacting provisions set out as a note under this section], shall become effective on the later of July 1, 1980 , or the date of enactment of this Act [ June 17, 1980 ]. The amendment made by section 2 [amending section 93 of former Title 46, Shipping] shall become effective on the date which is forty-five days after the date of enactment of this Act [ June 17, 1980 ].” The Secretary of Commerce, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall publish regulations in the Federal Register to require that, upon the effective date of those regulations, exporters (or their agents) who are required to file Shippers’ Export Declarations under chapter 9 of title 13, United States Code, file such Declarations through the Automated Export System with respect to exports of items on the United States Munitions List or the Commerce Control List. provision by the Department of Commerce for the establishment of on-line assistance services to be available for those individuals who must use the Automated Export System; provision by the Department of Commerce for ensuring that an individual who is required to use the Automated Export System is able to print out from the System a validated record of the individual’s submission, including the date of the submission and a serial number or other unique identifier, where appropriate, for the export transaction; and a requirement that the Department of Commerce print out and maintain on file a paper copy or other acceptable back-up record of the individual’s submission at a location selected by the Secretary of Commerce.” providing the Department [of State] with full access to the Automated Export System; ensuring that the system is modified to meet the needs of the Department [of State], if such modifications are consistent with the needs of other United States Government agencies; and providing operational support. The Secretary of Commerce, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of [the] Treasury, shall publish regulations in the Federal Register to require, upon the effective date of those regulations, that all persons who are required to file export information under chapter 9 of title 13, United States Code, file such information through the Automated Export System. to allow the Department [of State] to access information on controlled exports made through the United States Postal Service; and to adjust the Automated Export System to parallel information currently collected by the Department.” The term ‘Automated Export System’ means the automated and electronic system for filing export information established under chapter 9 of title 13, United States Code, on June 19, 1995 (60 Federal Register 32040). The term ‘Commerce Control List’ has the meaning given the term in section 774.1 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations. The term ‘Shippers’ Export Declaration’ means the export information filed under chapter 9 of title 13, United States Code, as described in part 30 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations. The term ‘United States Munitions List’ means the list of items controlled under section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2778 ).”