Census Seeing Uptick in Foreign Countries Asking for US EEI
After noticing a recent rise in foreign governments asking for copies of Electronic Export Information, the Census Bureau reminded U.S. exporters this week that information in EEI, and “related documentation,” is “confidential” and can’t be shared with other countries. EEI filings are “required to satisfy U.S. regulatory requirements, not the needs of foreign governments,” Census said in an Oct. 27 email to industry.
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The agency said exporters have asked Census about “specific countries requiring EEI-related documentation, such as the Internal Transaction Number (ITN),” particularly “over the last several months.” Instead of providing the government with the EEI, exporters may give them the ITN “since it is not considered a data element as defined in Section 30.6” of the Foreign Trade Regulations. “However, if your shipment did not require EEI filing, because the shipment was excluded or exempted from filing requirements, then the citation that was used in place of the ITN can be provided (i.e., postdeparture filing citation, AES downtime filing citation, and exemption or exclusion),” Census said.
Other documents that don’t have “confidentiality restrictions,” including invoices or commercial loading documents, can be provided to foreign governments “for the shipment verification to occur,” Census said. If the foreign government is insisting on receiving the EEI, the agency, said exporters can send a copy of the “official response from the Census Bureau on letterhead indicating that EEI cannot be provided to foreign entities or governments under U.S. law.”