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093339 1 (1972-05-11)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacxei0001 and id is 1 raw text is: . O06333S UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE cou 'WASHINGTON, D C 20548 INTERNATIONAl DIVISION MAY 1 1 1972 Dear Mr. Krause: The General Accounting Office has completed a survey of certain aspects of World Trade Directory Reports (WTDR), one of the many services offered by the Department of Commerce (Commerce) to assist businessmen interested in selling abroad. The WTDR section of the Bureau of International Commerce is the group in the Department of Commerce responsible for handling requests from businesses for these reports. The objective of our survey was to find out if WTDR's were fulfilling business needs and were being provided to requestors in a timely manner, also to see whether ways could be found to improve the effectiveness of these reports. Background As you know, WTDR s are marketing profiles of foreign firms prepared by U.S. embassies and consulates overseas. The purpose of these reports is to provide U.S. businesses with descriptive and background information on specific foreign firms. Although WTDR's are not intended to be credit reports they do contain certain finan- cial information. The Foreign Credit Insurance Association (FCIA) accepts WTDR's as one of the two reports exporters are required to submit in applying for credit insurance. The typical report also includes information on type of organization, method of operation, lines of products handled, size of firm, sales territory, names of owners and officers, capital, sales volume, general reputation in trade and financial circles, and names of firmls trading connections. WTDRts also serve as the source document for Commerce listings of foreign firms in Trade Lists, a compilation of potential business contacts for U.S. companies. In fiscal year 1971, about 33,500 reports were prepared and 46,600 copies were provided at $2 per report. Commerce does not compile data on the cost of preparing and piocessing WTDR's and available estimates vary considerably. For example, the overseas cost of the service in Hong Kong was estimated by Consulate officials at $12 per report, Embassy officials in Rome estimated the cost at $28 per report. A 1966 study by a joint State, Commerce, AID task force reviewing commercial reporting estimated the overseas cost at $36 per report based on a sampling of 12 posts. We reasoned that since the WTDR section's fiscal year 1971 direct operating costs 2L~~ J!9P /633J

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