## Task Force on the SNA Research Agenda – Globalization Task Team: Task Team meeting (teleconference) June 16, 2020 Draft Minutes

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Task Force on the SNA Research Agenda – Globalization Task Team: Task Team meeting (teleconference) June 16, 2020 Draft Minutes](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/gztt/gztt-meeting-minutes-june-16-2020.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/gztt/gztt-meeting-minutes-june-16-2020.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/gztt/gztt-meeting-minutes-june-16-2020.pdf.json)

---

### Official launch of the update of the International Statistical Standards
- The update of the System of National Accounts (SNA) was formally launched at the 2020 United Nations Statistics Commission (March 2020) with the target date of March 2025.
- The update of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM) was launched by the IMF Committee on Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPCOM) in March 2020, with the same target date of March 2025.
- Objective: have a high degree of collaboration and maintain alignment between SNA and BPM updates.
- Governance structure:
  - Involves international agencies, including members of the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts (ISWGNA), Advisory Expert Group on National Accounts (AEG), and BOPCOM.
  - Different Task Teams (TTs) created with experts from national agencies to address research topics on the SNA and BPM Research Agendas.
  - Designed to foster collaboration between TTs and across statistical domains to avoid duplication and reach agreement on cross-cutting issues.
- Timeline and project management:
  - Goal to complete guidance notes by the beginning of 2022.
  - International agencies are designing an overarching project management to provide clarity on active research issues and establish the review and agreement process, particularly when both ISWGNA and BOPCOM are involved.

### Discussion of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and Special Purpose Entities (SPE) consultation

- Issue paper and consultation process:
  - Issue paper combined inputs from Ms. Ann Lisbet Brathaug (Statistics Norway) and Mr. Dylan Rassier (Bureau of Economic Analysis, United States), and other past discussion and research.
  - Paper included approximately 26 questions.
  - Secretariat received 17 replies from 15 countries, and 2 international agencies (ECB and Eurostat).

- Main outcomes of the consultation on MNEs and SPEs:
  - Little appetite to change the core of the current statistical standards to account for both MNEs and SPEs; preference skewed towards computation of supplemental indicators, taking into account statistical capacity and country needs.
  - Focus on indicators beyond GDP within SNA that are less sensitive to globalization impacts such as GNI and GNDI.
    - Consultation showed a preference for gross measures since net measures are more challenging to compile and need further development on consumption of fixed capital measures.
  - For MNEs, broad support for additional institutional sector breakdown of foreign-controlled MNEs, domestic MNEs, and other domestic companies, leveraging G20 DGI recommendation #8 – sectoral accounts.
  - Promoting and supporting compilation of extended Supply and Use Tables (SUTs) as supplemental tables seems possible within scope of the SNA; prescriptive breakdowns or inclusion in core SUTs may not be feasible and should be out of scope of the core SNA.
    - eSUTs considered fairly ambitious; alternative proposal: construct gross value added by industry instead of full eSUT.
  - For additional supplemental indicators less sensitive to globalization (e.g., GNI* or others), consultation showed preference for country-specific measures; choice of useful indicators depends on economic structure.
  - Practical challenges highlighted: resource constraints in national statistics offices (NSOs), data availability (e.g., administrative data and centralized business registers), data sharing agreements and confidentiality, and communication efforts needed to inform users of supplemental indicators.
  - For SPEs:
    - Broad support for separately identifying SPEs.
    - Given limited progress on data sharing, it might not be desirable to re-open discussion of consolidating SPEs with non-resident parents.
    - Proposal to separately identify SPEs as an institutional subsector in the SNA was raised.
    - Rassier (US) proposal of breaking the full sequence of accounts into SPEs and operating entities found hard to implement.
  - Definition of SPE endorsed by BOPCOM:
    - Found generally useful and brought more precision.
    - Could be used as a stepping ground to include national accounts aspects into the definition.
    - IMF Statistics Department is working on operational guidelines for SPE; progress to be presented in next ECB and BOPCOM meetings.

#### Task Team members' comments on the consultation summary
- General acknowledgement that the issue paper was well drafted and the summary reflected consultation views.
- Key discussion points:
  - Appreciation that there was no appetite to change the core statistical standards framework for MNEs and SPEs.
  - Agreement that supplemental indicators should be country specific, reflecting statistical capacity and economic structure.
    - Net measures are difficult to compile, but user demand for net indicators exists.
    - Task Team should study feasibility, including topics like depreciation of MNEs’ assets and reinvested earnings (to be addressed by IPP Task Team).
  - Supplemental indicators may not be globally additive; international comparability could be challenging.
  - Guidance note should reflect hierarchy of preferences expressed in consultation and outline way forward for countries planning to compile additional measures.
  - Latin American consultation subgroup supports additional breakdown on domestic/foreign owned MNEs.
  - Concerns over compilation burden of extended SUTs; recommendation remains to have level of detail that is significant and feasible for the country.
  - Need for more practical guidance on economic ownership and residency; add national accounts perspective to BOPCOM-endorsed SPE definition.
    - Work of BOPCOM Task Force on SPEs to be taken into account when drafting guidance note on SPEs.
  - Importance of having an SPE register and data sharing arrangements; data sharing should be more prevalent.
  - Relevance of not consolidating SPEs with parents emphasized.
  - Emphasis on communication.
  - Guidance notes should focus on:
    - What needs to be changed in international statistics standards.
    - Priority issues.
    - Whether changes in data standards will improve data gaps and answer policy needs.
  - Coordination with other task teams is important, especially on cross-domain issues.
    - Consultation with joint IPP Task Team and BOPCOM’s Current Account Task Team (CATT) and Direct Investment Task Team (DITT) is particularly important.

### Upcoming meetings (virtual)
- Co-chairs and secretariat will present Globalization Task Team work in two upcoming virtual meetings; Task Team members encouraged to register and attend.

- International Association of Income and Wealth (IARIW) - Digital Session on the SNA Update and Related International Standards
  - Webinar date and times:
    - August 26, 2020 at 2PM to 5:15PM in Western European Time.
    - August 26, 2020 from 8AM to 11:15AM in Eastern United States Time.
  - Two sessions: Part I - Well-being and Sustainability; Part II - Digitalization and Globalization.
  - Session on Globalization will include most topics under Task Team discussion (except valuation of imports and exports) and IPPs.
  - Audience will include data users (e.g., discussant from Yale University); paper and presentation will illustrate how data can meet user needs.

- UNECE Webinars of the Group of Experts on National Accounts
  - Five sessions and dates/times:
    - SNA Update — September 1, 1:30-3:30PM CEST.
    - Well-being and sustainability — September 3, 1:30-4:30PM CEST.
    - Digitalization — September 14, 1:30-4:30PM CEST.
    - Globalization — September 16, 1:30-3:30PM CEST.
    - Communication of the SNA — September 18, 1:30-3:30PM CEST.
  - Session on Globalization will include a presentation on Task Team work (valuation of imports and exports, treatment of MNEs, treatment of SPEs, and treatment of IPPs).
  - Audience will include mainly national accounts and balance of payments compilers.
  - Webinar includes opportunity to ask questions in advance on feasibility of emerging recommendations (e.g., availability of transaction value data in customs documents, availability of international transportation services data, BOPCOM definition of SPEs and applicability to national accounts statistics).
    - Suggestions for questions by Task Team members welcomed; deadline to send questions to UNECE is August 1.

### Way forward on guidance notes
- Co-chairs and secretariat are drafting three guidance notes:
  - Treatment of MNEs.
  - Treatment of SPEs.
  - Valuation of imports and exports.
- Several opportunities will be provided to include comments and additional inputs from Task Team members on draft guidance notes.
- Guidance notes will be updated after including feedback from Task Team members, the two meetings above, and other relevant stakeholders such as other task teams.
- Goal is to present Task Team work at the AEG meeting in October 2020.

### Agreed actions
- Task Team members: provide comments and confirm views properly reflected in consultation on MNEs and SPEs by June 24, 2020.
- Secretariat: circulate draft guidance note on valuation of imports and exports (CIF/FOB adjustment) by mid-July 2020.
- Secretariat: circulate draft guidance note on MNEs and Intra-MNE flows by mid-August 2020.
- Secretariat: circulate guidance on treatment of SPEs and residency by mid-August 2020.

### Participants
- Co-chairs:
  - Mr. Michael Connolly (Ireland Central Statistics Office).
  - Mr. Paul Roberts (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
- Participants from countries:
  - Ms. María Lourdes Erro Azcarate (Central Bank of Uruguay - Retired).
  - Ms. Ann Lisbet Brathaug (Statistics Norway).
  - Mr. Paul Feuvrier (Central Bank of Luxembourg).
  - Mr. Satoru Hagino (Fukuyama University, Japan).
  - Ms. Grace Kim (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
  - Mr. Sanjiv Mahajan (Office of National Statistics, United Kingdom).
  - Mr. Roberto Ramos (Getúlio Vargas Foundation, Brazil).
  - Mr. Dylan Rassier (Bureau of Economic Analysis, United States).
  - Ms. Norhayati Razi (Bank Negara, Malaysia).
  - Mr. Jens Walter (Deutsche Bundesbank).
  - Ms. Jennifer Withington (Statistics Canada).
- International agencies:
  - Mr. Nadim Ahmad (OECD).
  - Mr. Celestino Giron (ECB).
  - Mr. Rami Peltola (UNECE).
  - Ms. Tihomira Dimova Rodde (UNECE).
  - Mr. Herman Smith (UNSD).
  - Mr. Steinar Todsen (Eurostat).
- Secretariat (IMF):
  - Jennifer Ribarsky.
  - Padma Sandhya Hurree Gobin.
  - Margarida Martins.
  - Ms. Francien Berry.
- Unable to attend:
  - Ms. Yang Can (State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China).
  - Ms. Lamia Laabar (Haut-Commisariat au Plan, Morocco).
  - Mr. Andrey Tatarinov (ROSSTAT, Russia).
  - Mr. Themba Munalula (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)).

---


_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/gztt/gztt-meeting-minutes-june-16-2020.pdf_