[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5468-5471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1952]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection is a 3-year extension, 
pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.L. 104-13), of the 
current ``generic clearance'' (approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget under control No. 3117-0016) under which the Commission can 
issue information collections (specifically, producer, importer, 
purchaser, and foreign producer questionnaires and certain institution 
notices) for a series of import injury investigations that are required 
by the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Trade Act of 1974, normally in 
response to petitions from domestic firms. Comments concerning the 
proposed information collections are requested in accordance with 5 CFR 
1320.8(d); such comments are described in greater detail in the section 
of this notice entitled supplementary information.

DATES: To be assured of consideration, written comments must be 
received not later than April 1, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Signed comments should be submitted to Marilyn Abbott, 
Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20436.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the proposed information 
collections and draft Paperwork Reduction Act Submission and Supporting 
Statement to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget may be 
obtained from: Debra Baker, Office of Investigations, U.S. 
International Trade Commission (telephone no. (202) 205-3180; e-mail 
[email protected]). Hearing-impaired persons can obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
on (202) 205-1810. 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. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its 
Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The draft Supporting Statement 
is also on the Commission's Web site (at http://info.usitc.gov/OINV/INVEST/OINVINVEST.NSF).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    Comments are solicited as to (1) Whether the proposed information 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) minimization of the burden 
of the proposed information collection on those who are to respond 
(including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological forms of information technology, 
e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses).

Summary of the Proposed Information Collections

(1) Need for the Proposed Information Collections

    The information requested in the questionnaires and five-year 
sunset review institution notices is for use by the Commission in 
connection with the following statutory investigations: antidumping 
duty, countervailing duty, escape clause, North American Free Trade 
Agreement (NAFTA) safeguard, market disruption, and interference-with-
programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Commission's 
generic clearance to issue questionnaires will not apply to repetitive 
questionnaires such as those issued on a quarterly or annual basis or 
to other investigations and research studies conducted under section 
332 of the Trade Act of 1974.
    Data received in response to the questionnaires issued under the 
terms of the proposed generic clearance are consolidated in the form of 
a staff

[[Page 5469]]

report. In addition, in the majority of its investigations, the 
Commission releases completed questionnaires returned by industry 
participants to representatives of parties to its investigations under 
the terms of an administrative protective order, the terms of which 
safeguard the confidentiality of any business proprietary or business 
confidential information. Representatives of interested parties also 
receive a confidential version of the staff report under the 
administrative protective order. Subsequent party submissions to the 
Commission for specific proceedings are based, in large part, upon 
their review of the information collected by the Commission. The 
information provided by firms in response to the questionnaires 
constitutes a major portion of the statistical base for the 
Commission's determinations.
    Publicly-available data are utilized where possible by the 
Commission. However, the use of questionnaires is generally the most 
expedient and valid method of obtaining record data due to the 
requirement for comparability in measurement for production (both 
domestic and foreign), import, and purchase data as well as for 
timeliness and due to the frequent need to evaluate the individual 
operations of firms within an industry. Included in the proposed 
generic clearance are the institution notices for the five-year reviews 
of antidumping and countervailing duty orders and suspended 
investigations. Responses to the institution notices will be evaluated 
by the Commission and form much of the record for its determination to 
conduct either an expedited or full review.

(2) Information Collection Plan

    Questionnaires for specific investigations are sent to all 
identified domestic producers manufacturing the product(s) in question. 
Importer and purchaser questionnaires are also sent to all significant 
importers/purchasers of the product(s). Finally, all foreign 
manufacturers of the product(s) in question that are represented by 
counsel are sent questionnaires, and, in addition, the Commission 
attempts to contact any other foreign manufacturers, especially if they 
export the product(s) in question to the United States. Firms receiving 
questionnaires include businesses, farms, and/or other for-profit 
institutions; responses are mandatory.
    The institution notices for the five-year reviews are published in 
the Federal Register and solicit comment from interested parties (i.e., 
U.S. producers within the industry in question as well as labor unions 
or representative groups of workers, U.S. importers and foreign 
exporters, and involved foreign country governments).

(3) Description of the Information To Be Collected

    Although the content of each questionnaire will differ based on the 
needs of a particular investigation, questionnaires are based on long-
established, generic formats. Producer questionnaires generally consist 
of the following four parts: (part I) general questions relating to the 
organization and activities of the firm; (part II) data on capacity, 
production, inventories, employment, and the quantity and value of the 
firm's shipments and purchases from various sources; (part III) 
financial data, including income-and-loss data on the product in 
question, data on asset valuation, research and development expenses, 
and capital expenditures; and (part IV) pricing and market factors. 
(Questionnaires may, on occasion, also contain part V, an abbreviated 
version of the above-listed parts, used for gathering data on 
additional product categories.)
    Importer questionnaires generally consist of three parts: (part I) 
general questions relating to the organization and activities of the 
firm; (part II) data on the firm's imports and the shipment and 
inventories of its imports; and (part III) pricing and market factors 
similar to that requested in the producer questionnaire.
    Purchaser questionnaires generally consist of five parts: (Part I) 
general questions relating to the organization and activities of the 
firm; (part II) data concerning the purchases of the product by the 
firm; (part III) market characteristics and purchasing practices; (part 
IV) comparisons between imported and U.S.-produced product; and (part 
V) actual purchase prices for specific types of domestic and subject 
imported products and the names of the firm's vendors.
    Foreign producer questionnaires generally consist of (part I) 
general questions relating to the organization and activities of the 
firm; (part II) data concerning the firm's manufacturing operations; 
and may include (part III) market factors.
    The notices of institution for the five-year reviews include 11 
specific requests for information that firms are to provide if their 
response is to be considered by the Commission.
    The Commission solicits input from petitioners and other potential 
recipients when preparing questionnaires for individual investigations 
to ensure that the questions are succinct and relevant to the 
investigation and that the scope of the information request is 
streamlined to the extent feasible. Further, the Commission has 
formalized the process where interested parties comment on data 
collection and draft questionnaires in final phase countervailing duty 
and antidumping investigations (and 5-year full reviews). Interested 
parties are provided approximately 2 weeks to provide comments to the 
Commission on the draft questionnaires.

(4) Estimated Burden of the Proposed Information Collection

    The Commission estimates that information collections issued under 
the requested generic clearance will impose an average annual burden of 
173,000 burden hours on 4,300 respondents (i.e., recipients that 
provide a response to the Commission's questionnaires or the notices of 
institution of five-year reviews). Table 1 lists the projected annual 
burden for each type of information collection for the period July 
2005-June 2008:

                             Table 1.--Projected Annual Burden Data, by Type of Information Collection, July 2005-June 2008
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                                             Producer           Importer          Purchaser       Foreign producer     Institution
                 Item                     questionnaires     questionnaires     questionnaires     questionnaires     notices for 5-         Total
                                               \1\                \2\                \3\                \4\          year reviews \5\
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                                                                 Estimated burden hours imposed annually for July 2005-June 2008
                                       --------------------
Number of respondents.................                952              1,370              1,070                814                 61              4,267
Frequency of response.................                  1                  1                  1                  1                  1                  1
Total annual responses................                952              1,370              1,070                814                 61              4,267

[[Page 5470]]

 
Hours per response....................               52.7               38.5               26.3               50.6               14.8               40.6
    Total hours.......................             50,170             52,745             28,141             41,188                904           173,148
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\1\ Producer questionnaires.--Estimates based upon the following variables: number of respondents (anticipated caseload (x) number of producer
  respondents per case) and hours per response (responding firm burden (+) outside review burden (+) third-party disclosure burden). See definitions
  below. Responding firm burden accounts for 91 percent of the total producer questionnaire burden (48.0 hours per response), outside review burden
  accounts for 6 percent of the total burden, and third-party disclosure burden accounts for the remaining 3 percent. (The averages per questionnaire of
  the outside review and third-party disclosure burdens are not listed here since they are incurred only for the questionnaires of parties; such
  averages for all questionnaires are not meaningful.)
\2\ Importer questionnaires.--Estimates based upon the following variables: number of respondents (anticipated caseload (x) number of importer
  respondents per case) and hours per response (responding firm burden (+) outside review burden (+) third-party disclosure burden). See definitions
  below. Responding firm burden accounts for 98 percent of the total importer questionnaire burden (37.7 hours per response), outside review burden and
  third-party disclosure burden each account for about 1 percent of the total burden. (The averages per questionnaire of the outside review and third-
  party disclosure burdens are not listed here since they are incurred only for the questionnaires of parties; such averages for all questionnaires are
  not meaningful.)
\3\ Purchaser questionnaires.--Estimates based upon the following variables: number of respondents (anticipated caseload (x) number of purchaser
  respondents per case) and hours per response (responding firm burden). See definitions below. Purchasers are not interested parties to investigations
  by statute and typically do not engage outside counsel. Therefore, there is minimal outside review burden nor third-party disclosure burden for
  purchasers.
\4\ Foreign producer questionnaires.--Estimates based upon the following variables: number of respondents (anticipated caseload (x) number of foreign
  producer respondents per case) and hours per response (responding firm burden (+) outside review burden (+) third-party disclosure burden). See
  definitions below. Responding firm burden accounts for 62 percent of the total foreign producer questionnaire burden (31.4 hours per response),
  outside review burden accounts for another 20 percent, and third-party disclosure burden accounts for 18 percent of the total burden.
\5\ Institution notices for 5-year reviews.--Estimates based upon the following variables: anticipated five-year review caseload, number of respondents
  to each notice, and responding firm burden.
Note.--Above estimates include questionnaires for specific investigations where the mailing list consists of fewer than 10 firms. In such instances the
  majority or all firms within the industry under investigation may be said to receive questionnaires. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
  sbull I11``(a)ny collection of information addressed to all or a substantial majority of an industry is presumed to involved ten or more persons.''
 
 DEFINITIONS
 
 Anticipated caseload.--Derived from current Commission budget estimates.
Number of respondents per case.--Defined as the number of firms which return completed (see note 3 to table 3) questionnaires to the Commission. Current
  estimates of ``number of respondents per case'' for the questionnaires were derived, in part, from the number of respondents to Commission
  questionnaires that were issued under the current generic clearance.
Responding firm burden.--Defined as the time required by the firm which received the questionnaire to review instructions, search data sources, and
  complete and review its response. Commission questionnaires do not impose the burden of developing, acquiring, installing and utilizing technology and
  systems, nor require adjusting existing methodology or training personnel. Current estimates of ``responding firm burden'' for the questionnaires were
  derived, in part, from the actual burden reported by firms that responded to Commission questionnaires issued under the current generic clearance.
Outside review burden.--Time devoted by outside legal and financial advisors to reviewing questionnaires completed by the responding firms who are their
  clients prior to submitting them to the Commission.
Third-party disclosure burden.--Time required for outside legal advisors to serve their clients' questionnaires on other parties to the investigation or
  review under an administrative protective order.

    The Commission further estimates that it costs responding firms 
$72.27 per burden hour to complete a specific questionnaire issued 
under the generic clearance. (This estimate is based upon actual costs 
reported by respondents to questionnaires issued under the current 
generic clearance.) More complete information concerning costs to 
respondents, including costs incurred for the purchase of services, and 
estimates of the annualized cost to the Commission are presented in the 
draft Supporting Statement available from the Commission. There is no 
known capital and start-up cost component imposed by the proposed 
information collections.

(5) Minimization of Burden

    The Commission strives to minimize the burden on all questionnaire 
respondents and takes into account the needs of smaller firms. It 
periodically reviews its investigative processes, including data 
collection, to reduce the information burden. In recognition of the 
limitations of administrative resources or automated record systems, 
questionnaires clearly state that estimates are acceptable for certain 
items. They are designed in part with check-in type formats to simplify 
the response. The reporting burden for smaller firms is reduced in that 
the sections of the questionnaire that are applicable to their 
operations are typically more limited. For example, questionnaires are 
constructed so that meaningful data can be obtained from larger firms 
with complex business operations; thus, many sections of the 
questionnaires may not apply to respondents with comparatively simple 
operations. Requests by parties to expand the data collection or add 
items to the questionnaire may not be accepted if the Commission 
believes such requests will increase the response burden while not 
substantially adding to the investigative record.
    The Commission's collection of data through its questionnaires does 
not currently involve the interactive use of automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology. Completed questionnaires are almost always 
returned to the Commission in paper form (including by fax and e-mail). 
While the Commission has explored the use of alternative methods of 
submission, it has proved most expedient to use paper copies for a 
number of reasons. (The draft Supporting Statement available from the 
Commission addresses this issue in greater detail.) Likewise, it is the 
Commission's experience that it is most expedient that the information 
provided in response to its notices of institution for the five-year 
reviews be

[[Page 5471]]

submitted in document form directly to its Office of the Secretary.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: January 27, 2005.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 05-1952 Filed 2-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P