Statement on Signing the Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990

I have today signed S. 2516, the "Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990." This Act requires the Secretary of Commerce to produce an annual report on the role and significance of foreign direct investment in the United States. The report will provide information with sufficient detail so that analysis of such investment in various industry sectors and geographic areas will be improved. This improvement will be accomplished with no additional reporting requirements on businesses.

The Act allows the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Bureau of the Census to share identifiable business establishment data in order to achieve more meaningful information on foreign investment. The General Accounting Office will also have limited access to these data to perform its oversight function.

S. 2516 contains significant safeguards to protect the confidentiality of sensitive business information and to ensure that data provided by individual respondents will be used exclusively for statistical and analytical purposes. The provisions of this Act clearly preserve the principles of exclusive statistical use and nondisclosure of confidential information. It is of paramount importance to this Administration that these fundamental principles of the Federal statistical system are strictly maintained so that the accuracy and integrity of Government data are not threatened.

George Bush

The White House,

November 7, 1990.