[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 18 (Thursday, January 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4466-4468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2045]
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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 (P.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 the following types of import injury investigations:
countervailing duty, antidumping, escape clause, market disruption,
NAFTA safeguard, and ``interference with programs of the USDA.''
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 March 26, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Signed comments should be submitted to Donna Koehnke,
Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW.,
Washington, D.C. 20436.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the proposed information
collections (and related instructions) and draft Paperwork Reduction
Act Submission and Supporting Statement to be submitted to the Office
of Management and Budget may be obtained from either of the following
persons: Debra Baker, Office of Investigations, U.S. International
Trade Commission, telephone 202-205-3180, or Lynn Featherstone,
Director, Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade
Commission, telephone 202-205-3160. The draft Supporting Statement is
also on the Commission's website (http://www.usitc.gov).
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 Commission conducts countervailing duty and antidumping
investigations under provisions of Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930
to determine whether domestic industries are being materially injured
or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of products
which are subsidized (countervailing duty cases) or sold at less than
fair value (antidumping cases). Five-year reviews of antidumping and
countervailing duty orders and suspended investigations are conducted
to determine whether revocation of the existing orders would be likely
to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to the
domestic industry. The Commission conducts escape-clause investigations
to determine whether increased imports are a substantial cause of
serious injury or threat of serious injury to a domestic industry.
NAFTA safeguard investigations are conducted under the authority of the
North American Free Trade Agreement and examine whether increased
imports from Canada or Mexico are a substantial cause of serious injury
or threat of serious injury to a domestic industry. Market disruption
investigations are conducted to determine whether imports of an article
produced in a Communist country are causing material injury to a
domestic industry. The Commission also conducts investigations to
determine whether imports are interfering with programs of the
Department of Agriculture for agricultural commodities or products.
Specific investigations are almost always instituted in response to
petitions received from U.S. manufacturers of the product(s) in
question. Data received in response to the questionnaires
(specifically, producer, importer, purchaser, and foreign producer
questionnaires) issued under the terms of the proposed generic
clearance are consolidated and form much of the statistical base for
the Commission's determinations in these statutorily-mandated
investigations.
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
Using the sample ``generic clearance'' questionnaires as a guide,
questionnaires for specific investigations are prepared and are sent to
U.S. producers manufacturing the product(s) in question and to all
significant importers of the products, except in cases involving an
unusually large number of firms. In these instances, questionnaires are
sent to a representative sample of firms. Purchaser questionnaires are
also sent to all significant 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
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,
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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 production 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 set reviews include 11 specific requests for information that firms
are to provide if their response is to be considered by the Commission.
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.
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 (including the
5-year reviews). Interested parties are provided approximately 2 weeks
to provide comments to the Commission on the draft questionnaires. All
efforts are made to minimize burden to the firms that will be receiving
the 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
105,000 response hours on 2,600 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 1999
through June 2002:
Table 1.--Projected Annual Burden Data, by Type of Information Collection, July 1999-June 2002
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Foreign
Producer Importer Purchaser producer Institution
Item questionnaires questionnaires question-naires question-naires notices for 5- Total
\1\ \2\ \3\ \4\ year reviews
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Estimated burden hours imposed annually for July 1999-June 2002
Number of respondents......................... 890 871 575 208 86 2,630
Frequency of response......................... 1 1 1 1 1 1
Total annual responses........................ 890 871 575 208 86 2,630
Hours per response............................ 52.6 44.1 23.2 28.0 7.4 39.9
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Total hours............................. 46,825 38,426 13,335 5,832 636 105,054
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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 (48.1 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 interested 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 (43.3 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 interested 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 rarely engage outside counsel. Therefore, there is no measurable 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 34 percent of the total foreign producer questionnaire burden (9.6 hours per response), outside
review burden accounts for another 34 percent, and third-party disclosure burden accounts for 32 percent of the total burden.
\5\ Institution notices for 5-year reviews.--Estimates based upon the following variables: anticipated 5-year review caseload, number of respondents to
each notice, and responding firm burden. The Commission based its estimate of the number of respondents upon the number of responses per review
received to date. Responding firm burden is estimated based on a comparison of the amount of information contained in notices received to date to
completed producer questionnaires.
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,
``(a)ny collection of information addressed to all or a substantial majority of an industry is presumed to involve ten or more persons.''
Definitions and Methodology
Anticipated caseload.--Derived from current Commission budget
estimates.
Number of respondents per case.--Defined as the number of firms
which return completed (see note 2 to table 3) questionnaires to the
Commission. Current estimates of ``number of respondents per case'' for
the producer,
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importer, and purchaser questionnaires were derived, in part, from the
number of respondents to Commission questionnaires that were issued in
FY1996-98. Averaged to that is the estimated number of respondents for
questionnaires to be issued to 9 or fewer firms. Data for these
mailings were not collected during FY1996-98 and Commission staff
estimates that 4 respondents per mailing return such questionnaires.
Similarly, foreign producer questionnaires are typically sent to 9 or
fewer firms and Commission staff again used an estimate of 4
respondents per mailing for foreign producer questionnaires.
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 producer, importer, and purchaser
questionnaires were derived from the actual burden reported by firms
that responded to Commission questionnaires issued in FY1996-98.
Current estimates of ``respondent firm burden'' for the foreign
producer questionnaires was estimated by Commission staff based upon
its review of previously returned questionnaires.
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.
Commission staff conducted a survey of fewer than 10 law firms which
have appeared before the Commission to derive a ``petitioner'' review
burden estimate per party questionnaire and a ``respondent'' review
burden estimate. Staff also reviewed a number of past investigations
(33) to determine the average number of ``parties'' (i.e., respondent
interested parties who were represented by outside counsel) per
investigation and calculated the total number of review burden hours
that would be incurred annually. The ``petitioner/producer'' review
burden was applied to the producer questionnaire burden figures and the
``respondent'' review burden was divided among the importer and foreign
producer questionnaires.
Third party disclosure burden.--Time required for outside legal
advisors to serve their clients' questionnaires on other interested
parties to the investigation or review under an administrative
protective order. Commission staff included in its survey of law firms
a request for the average third party disclosure burden and using the
same methodology described above for outside review burden applied the
third party disclosure burden to the hours per response figures for the
producer, importer, and foreign producer questionnaires.
The Commission further estimates that it costs responding firms
$65.30 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) Information Technology
The Commission's collection of data through its questionnaires does
not currently involve the 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. While the Commission has explored the use of
alternative methods of submission, it has proved most expedient to
receive paper copies for a number of reasons. (The draft Supporting
Statement available from the Commission addresses this issue in greater
detail.) However, while there are certain impediments to the easy
receipt of data in electronic form, the Commission will, and has in the
past, accept electronic submissions when large amounts of
``repetitive'' data are being requested. Further, the Commission will
make the questionnaires available to firms in electronic format to aid
respondents. 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 submitted in document form
directly to its Office of the Secretary.
Issued: January 25, 1999.
By order of the Commission.
Donna R. Koehnke,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-2045 Filed 1-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P
