[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 106 (Monday, June 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38293-38295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-13828]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION


Information Quality Guidelines

AGENCY: International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States International Trade Commission (Commission) 
announces that its draft Information Quality Guidelines have been 
posted on the Commission website. The Commission invites public 
comments on its draft Guidelines and will consider the comments 
received in developing its final Guidelines.

DATES: Comments are due on or before June 20, 2002. Final Guidelines 
are to be published by October 1, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the Secretary, United States 
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20436.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen A. McLaughlin, Acting Chief 
Information Officer, telephone 202-205-3131. Hearing-impaired 
individuals are advised that information on this matter may be obtained 
by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-3105. Persons 
with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining 
access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 
202-205-2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 515 of the Treasury and General 
Government Appropriations Act for FY 2001 (Pub. L. 106-554) requires 
each Federal agency to publish guidelines for ensuring and maximizing 
the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information it 
disseminates. Agency guidelines must be based on government-wide 
guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In 
compliance with this statutory requirement and OMB instructions, the 
Commission has posted its draft Information Quality Guidelines on the 
Commission's website (www.usitc.gov).
    The Guidelines describe the agency's procedures for ensuring the 
quality of information that it disseminates and the procedures by which 
an affected person may obtain correction of information disseminated by 
the Commission that does not comply with the Guidelines. The Commission 
invites public comments on its draft Guidelines and will consider the 
comments received in developing its proposed final Guidelines, which 
must be submitted to OMB for review. The agency's final Guidelines are 
to be published by October 1, 2002. Persons who cannot access the draft 
Guidelines through the Internet may request a paper or electronic copy 
by contacting the Office of the Secretary.

    Issued: May 29, 2002.

    By order of the Commission.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary.

International Trade Commission

Draft Information Quality Guidelines

    1. Purpose. The United States International Trade Commission 
(Commission) issues these Information Quality Guidelines (Guidelines) 
to describe the agency's procedures for ensuring and maximizing the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information that it 
disseminates and to set forth the administrative procedure by which an 
affected person may obtain correction of disseminated information that 
does not comply with the Guidelines.
    2. Authority. The Guidelines are based on section 515 of the 
Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 
No. 106-554) and the implementing guidelines of the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) published on September 28, 2001 (66 FR 
49718) and February 22, 2002 (67 FR 8452).
    3. Effective Date. The Guidelines are effective as of October 1, 
2002.
    4. Definitions. The definitions of ``quality,'' ``utility,'' 
``objectivity,'' ``integrity,'' ``information,'' ``Government 
information,'' ``information dissemination product,'' 
``dissemination,'' ``influential,'' and ``reproducibility'' contained 
in section V of the notice, ``Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing 
the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information 
Disseminated by Federal Agencies,'' as published by the Office of 
Management and Budget on February 22, 2002 (67 FR 8452), are 
incorporated herein by reference.
    5. Applicability. The mission of the Commission is to: (1) 
Administer U.S. trade remedy laws within its mandate in a fair and 
objective manner; (2) provide the President, the United States Trade 
Representative, and Congress with independent, quality analysis, 
information, and support on matters of tariffs and international trade 
and competitiveness; and (3) maintain the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States. In so doing, the Commission serves the public by 
implementing U.S. law and contributing to the development of sound and 
informed U.S. trade policy.
    In carrying out its mission, the Commission generates a variety of 
information products. Some are subject to section 515 and OMB's 
implementing guidelines. These and the Commission guidelines 
corresponding to them are discussed below. Others do not fall within 
the coverage of the statute and guidelines. Such excluded information 
includes press releases, responses to Freedom of Information Act and 
Privacy Act requests, correspondence with individuals, information that 
is provided in response to individual requests, and links to other 
website pages from the Commission website. Because the government-wide 
guidelines also exclude information that is disseminated in 
``adjudicative

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processes,'' the Commission Guidelines do not apply to decisions, 
orders, or any other documents disseminated in the course of Commission 
adjudicative proceedings. Initial determinations issued by Commission 
administrative law judges are subject to review by the Commission in 
accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Final Commission 
decisions, including initial determinations of administrative law 
judges that become final Commission decisions, are subject to judicial 
review in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
    The Commission also conducts import injury investigations under a 
number of statutory authorities. These investigations are not 
adjudicative proceedings, but are subject to judicial review in 
accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The Commission 
considers documents disseminated in such investigations to be 
sufficiently analogous to adjudicative processes for the purposes of 
section 515 to conclude that documents disseminated in those 
investigations are not covered by that statute or the OMB guidelines.
    6. Basic Standard of Quality. The basic standard of quality for 
information disseminated by the Commission is ``reasonable assurance.'' 
The agency's procedures for ensuring the quality of information it 
disseminates are intended to provide reasonable assurance that the 
information is accurate, clear, unbiased, and useful for intended 
users, and secure from unauthorized access or revision. This basic 
quality standard is consistent with the standard employed in internal 
management reviews to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the 
agency's operations.
    7. Procedures to Ensure Quality.
    a. Research program products. Commission research products are 
produced by the Office of Operations with assistance from other staff 
offices. A team prepares a draft report which is then submitted to a 
rigorous review process, normally involving primary review and senior 
review by agency staff and then review and approval by the Commission. 
Once approved, the products are provided to customers. Much of the 
information that the Commission disseminates is confidential business 
information and/or national security information, and is made available 
only to authorized recipients. In general, information that is publicly 
disclosable is provided to the general public through the Commission's 
website and other means of dissemination.
    The transparency of research products is assured, where 
appropriate, through inclusion of clear explanations of study 
methodology in report texts. Thus, to the extent that interested 
parties have appropriate access to the material, the statistical 
information and analyses that the Commission disseminates in its 
reports are available, and if appropriately qualified persons use the 
same or a similar methodology, they would be expected to generate 
similar findings and results.
    b. Trade information. Commission trade information, including the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule, is produced by the Office of Operations 
with assistance from other staff offices. Each product undergoes an 
internal review by subject matter experts prior to review by the 
Commission, where appropriate.
    c. General information about the Commission. The Commission's 
Offices of External Relations and of the Secretary disseminate a 
variety of products that provide information about the agency. An 
example is the Commission's Year in Review publication that summarizes 
agency activities during the past year. The Office of External 
Relations reviews each such information product prior to its review and 
approval by the Commission, and its subsequent public dissemination.
    The Commission issues a Strategic Plan, annual Performance Plan, 
and annual Performance Report in accordance with the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA). These documents are prepared by 
subject matter experts and reviewed by Commission office directors, and 
are approved by the Commission prior to their issuance. The Commission 
and Commission staff also prepare various documents that describe 
agency processes, such as the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Handbook and An Introduction to Administrative Protective Order in 
Import Injury Investigations, and these publications are subject to 
appropriate internal reviews by subject matter experts.
    d. Integrity of information on the Commission website. Commission 
office directors and appropriate subject matter experts in their 
offices are responsible for ensuring that accurate, complete, and 
current information in each office's area of responsibility is provided 
to the webmaster for posting to the Commission website. Information 
maintained on the website for public dissemination is backed up 
regularly to permit restoration in the event of any compromise of the 
site.
    e. Use of disclaimers. As a part of its procedures to ensure 
information quality, the Commission uses disclaimers where appropriate. 
A disclaimer notice regarding the accuracy and timeliness of 
information provided on the DataWeb website is included on that 
website. Staff research products, such as the International Economic 
Review and the Industry, Trade, and Technology Review, contain a 
disclaimer to advise users that the products are those of staff and do 
not represent the views of the Commission. Other disclaimers may be 
used, as appropriate, in future information dissemination products.
    8. Requests for Correction of Disseminated Information. This 
section sets forth the administrative procedure by which an affected 
person may obtain correction of information disseminated by the 
Commission that does not comply with its Information Quality 
Guidelines. This administrative procedure applies only to requests for 
correction of disseminated information to which these Guidelines apply, 
as described in section 5 above. Only requests from an ``affected 
person,'' that is, a person who may benefit from or be harmed by 
reliance on information disseminated by the Commission under these 
Guidelines, will be considered. Requests for correction of information 
that are made in bad faith or without justification will be rejected. 
This procedure for the correction of information is not intended to 
have any effect on the Commission's conduct of adjudicative proceedings 
and non-adjudicative import injury investigations.
    a. Request for correction. A request for correction of disseminated 
information that allegedly does not comply with the Commission 
Information Quality Guidelines must be submitted, in writing, to the 
Secretary to the Commission, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436. The request for correction must 
specifically identify the disseminated information that allegedly does 
not comply with the Guidelines and explain how the requestor is 
affected by the information.
    b. Initial decision. The Secretary to the Commission, or her 
designee, will review a request for correction of disseminated 
information and will issue a written initial decision to the requestor 
within 20 workdays of receipt of the request. The initial decision will 
advise the requestor of corrections made or, if the request is denied, 
will explain why no correction was made and advise the request for the 
opportunity to appeal the initial decision.
    c. Appeal to the Chief Information Officer. A requestor may appeal 
an initial decision denying a request for correction of disseminated 
information

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to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Commission. The appeal 
must be submitted, in writing, to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) 
of the Commission. The appeal must be submitted, in writing, to the 
Chief Information Officer, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436. The appeal must be submitted no later 
than 10 workdays from the date of the initial decision. The appeal must 
include a copy of the request for correction, a copy of the Secretary's 
initial decision, a statement of the reasons why the decision is not 
satisfactory to the requestor, and a statement of what remedy would be 
satisfactory to the requestor. The CIO will issue a decision within 20 
workdays of receipt of the appeal.
    The decision of the CIO is final and is not subject to 
administrative or judicial review.
    d. Reports. Beginning on January 1, 2004, and annually thereafter, 
the Commission will file reports with OMB that provide the number and 
nature of complaints received regarding information disseminated by the 
Commission and how the complaints were resolved.
    9. Revisions to the Guidelines. Each Commission office that 
produces information dissemination products to which these Guidelines 
apply is responsible for notifying the CIO of the Commission whenever a 
change in the Guidelines with respect to the office's products is 
required. Changes may be required, for example, when a new information 
dissemination product is created or an existing product is 
discontinued, or when there is a change in the office's procedures for 
ensuring the quality of an information dissemination product for which 
the office is responsible. The CIO will initiate necessary changes to 
the Guidelines. When changes to the Guidelines are made, a revised 
version will be posted to the Commission's website.

[FR Doc. 02-13828 Filed 5-31-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-20-M