[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 191 (Friday, October 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53125-53127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26416]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
International Trade Data System Project Office; International
Trade Data System
AGENCY: Department of the Treasury, International Trade Data System
Project Office.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the availability of a draft report
recommending the design and implementation of the interagency
International Trade Data System (ITDS), solicits public comments on
that draft, and announces a public briefing on the ITDS
recommendations.
DATES: The public briefing will take place on Thursday, November 5,
1998, beginning at 9 a.m. Requests to appear to present views at the
briefing must be received on or before October 21, 1998. Requests to
attend the briefing must be received on or before November 2, 1998.
Written comments must be received on or before November 12, 1998.
ADDRESSES: The public briefing will take place in the Department of
Commerce Auditorium located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC. Requests to appear at or attend the briefing must be
submitted to the ITDS Project Office by telephone at (202) 216-2760, or
by e-mail at the ITDS Web Site (www.itds.treas.gov). Comments may be
submitted in writing to the Department of the Treasury, International
Trade Data System Project Office, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite
4000, Washington, DC 20229, or by e-mail at [email protected]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard A. Kuzmack, Deputy Director,
ITDS Project Office (202-216-2760).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The International Trade Data System
(``ITDS'') is a Federal Government information technology initiative of
the National Performance Review. The ITDS will provide the public with
a single window through which to submit data and make payments required
by all Federal Government agencies that regulate international trade
transactions. It will also provide the public with a single, convenient
point for accessing data on international trade. The ITDS will
contribute to the creation of a government that works better and costs
less by: (1) Reducing the cost and burden of processing international
trade transactions for both the private trade community and the
government; (2) improving the enforcement of and compliance with
government trade regulations (such as those addressing public health
and safety, animal and plant health, consumer protection, etc.); and
(3) providing access to international trade data and information that
are more accurate, complete, and timely.
The ITDS initiative is led by a Board of Directors chaired by the
Department of the Treasury and composed of representatives from
government agencies that are major participants in government
international trade data processes. Agencies represented on the ITDS
Board of Directors include the Treasury Department, Agriculture
Department, Customs Service, Food and Drug Administration, Immigration
and Naturalization Service, Transportation Department, Commerce
Department, International Trade Commission, and the Office of the U. S.
Trade Representative. The initiative is also supported by a project
office hosted by the Department of the Treasury.
The ITDS Board of Directors has reviewed and approved for public
comment a draft project plan for implementing the ITDS system. Although
agency reviews and other work continue on the draft, the ITDS Board has
determined that it is appropriate at this point to seek public comment
as part of the review process. Toward this end, the Board is posting
major portions of the ITDS Draft Design Report on the Internet for
public review and comment. The report can be accessed from the link on
the ITDS Web Site at http://www.itds.treas.gov. The report consists of
a series of sections each serving a specific purpose with the objective
of satisfying government guidelines and requirements for the design,
development, and administration of the scope of the ITDS.
The various sections of the ITDS Design Report are as follows.
Concept of Operations
The Concept of Operations is central to the Draft Design Report. It
provides an overview of ITDS and forms the basis for the contents of
the other sections. The conceptual basis for the Design Report was
derived from the IT-06 Task Force Report dated May 1995. The key
components outlined in the IT-06 Report that form the foundation of
ITDS are: Border Operations, including commercial cargo and conveyance
processing; License and Permitting, including the accounting for goods
processed against specific licenses or permits; Statistics, Analysis,
and Policy Development; and Trade Promotion. Another important factor
regarding the functional content of the Concept of Operations is the
design principles adopted by the ITDS Board of Directors.
Information Technology Architecture Guidelines
The guidance contained in OMB Memorandum (M-97-16), Information
Technology Architectures, and the recommended Department of the
Treasury Information Technology Architecture (ITA), were used in the
development of the ITA Guidelines for the proposed system. The
technical section of the ITA identifies the various rules, government
directives, and standards to which agency systems must adhere in
developing information systems. Collectively, the sections contained
within the Design Report are intended to fulfill the guidelines
outlined in M-97-16 in addition to satisfying the requirements of the
Clinger-Cohen Act, OMB Circular A-130, and OMB Policy on Funding
Information Systems Investments.
Hardware and Software Alternatives
The Hardware and Software alternatives section describes the
alternative approaches (centralized, distributed, or a completely
outsourced system). This section of the Design Report discusses how
each alternative would be addressed: including transaction processing,
network communications, security, ITDS applications, data warehouse,
backup power supplies, and a backup data center. The ITDS is looking
for the most cost-effective means of operating the system over the long
term and, toward this end, is seriously considering designing the
system to facilitate outsourcing.
Risk Management
The Risk Management section describes a systematic approach to
identifying and controlling factors that could adversely affect the
implementation of ITDS. It includes the procedures and automated tools
to be used in tracking risks, assessing the likelihood of their
occurrence, their consequences, and mitigating plans. The ITDS Project
Office has identified ten risks, which are included in this section.
Configuration Management
The Configuration Management section provides a framework for
identifying and managing changes to the
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ITDS. It recommends policies, methodologies, and processes for the
design control and includes the use of automated tools and review
boards, It establishes the mechanism for identifying and evaluating
costs, schedule, and performance impacts of proposed changes against
established baselines.
Data Standardization
This section details the efforts undertaken by the ITDS Project
Office to arrive at a set of common data elements for imports, exports,
and in-transit shipments, including data specific to the conveyance,
cargo, and people (drivers and crews of commercial conveyances).
Conditional data elements are also included that are specific to a
particular commodity, country, or agency. Optional data elements have
also been identified that are accepted and stored by ITDS at the option
of the filer. Government provided data that is generated as a result of
internal ITDS system processing complete the standard data set.
Cost/Benefit
The Cost/Benefit section begins the work of estimating the
financial impact of implementing the ITDS. Using available data, this
section currently includes estimates of the effects of reducing the
burden on the trade community associated with filing government forms
required by the import and export processes. Though hard numbers are
difficult to obtain and methodologies for determining costs and
benefits can be challenged, initial estimates indicate that the
international trade community could save $8.9 billion of filing costs
over the expected life of the ITDS (through 2005). This translates to a
net benefit of $2 billion, or a benefit of $9 for every $1 spent.
Initial cost estimates for the implementation of the ITDS are
approximately $256 million through the end of 2005. This section also
applies sensitivity tests to the estimates and reaches a confident
conclusion that, even at this initial stage, it is clear that the
benefits for the ITDS implementation substantially exceed the expected
costs.
Interested parties (importers, exporters, brokers, carriers, and
others) are encouraged to review and comment on the ITDS Draft Design
Report. Comments should be submitted in writing by November 12, 1998.
Delivery is preferred in electronic form, e-mailed to the following
address: [email protected] Comments submitted on paper can be sent to the
Department of the Treasury, International Trade Data System Project
Office, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 4000, Washington, DC 20229.
A public meeting regarding the ITDS project proposal will be held
on Thursday, November 5, 1998 from 9 am to 1 p.m. The public meeting
will take place at the Department of Commerce Auditorium located at
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. The meeting
will provide a briefing on and high-level overview of the proposed
system, an opportunity for presentation of representative points of
view of industry participants, and a panel discussion of selected
questions submitted by the audience. Those attending the meeting are
encouraged to review the Draft Design Report before the public meeting.
The November 5 public meeting is open to all, however advance
registration is required. To register, contact the ITDS Project Office
on (202) 216-2760, or register by e-mail at the ITDS Web Site:
www.itds.treas.gov, on or before November 2, 1998. If registering by e-
mail, please include name, title, organization, phone number, fax
number and email address. Requests to make a presentation should also
be submitted to the project office by email or on paper, no later than
October 21, 1998. Owing to limited time and the value of including a
representative range of perspectives, the project office reserves the
discretion to select and limit oral presentations.
The ITDS Board of Directors welcomes any and all comments on the
ITDS project as proposed. The Board is also especially interested in
feedback by public comment on the following issues:
(1) Single electronic face for government in the collection of
trade data. One overall goal of the ITDS initiative is to consolidate,
streamline, integrate, and organize government information collection
and storage processes to provide the trade with a single, common, and
electronic interface with the federal government for purposes of
collecting information and financial charges (e.g. duties, fees, and
other charges) with respect to international trade transactions. To
what extent is our perception correct that elimination of redundant
transactions with multiple agencies will benefit private firms, and
international trade processes, by reducing direct and indirect
administrative costs?
(2) Standardized data elements, definitions, and declarations
across government. Another major area of emphasis of the ITDS
initiative is to simplify and speed up the process of submitting and
using information required by the government in connection with
international trade transactions by: limiting information submitted to
that needed by documented requirements of government agencies;
developing common data elements and definitions based to the fullest
extent possible on appropriate commercial standards already in use
within the international trade community; and standardizing
declarations made in connection with imports and exports, across all
federal agencies, and ideally, over the longer term, as an
international standard acceptable for all governments. Data elements
are divided into two categories, ``common'' and ``conditional;'' common
data elements would be submitted in connection with all international
trade transactions, and conditional elements would be submitted on a
conditional basis, depending on the nature of the specific transaction.
Although such standardization will in some instances require some
parties to submit more information in a single submission than they
have provided to any one agency in the past, the overall effect of the
new approach will be to dramatically reduce the number of different
places to which information is submitted (to one), and the total amount
of information actually provided (the goal is to move from duplication
that is massive to no duplication). What are your reactions to the data
elements and definitions as they are proposed, and their classification
as common and conditional? Will collection of these data allow the
Federal Government to enforce effectively the laws and regulations in
which you are interested? What further improvements would you suggest?
(3) Shared database for shared access and dissemination across
agencies. The ITDS initiative will also simplify and change current
government processes by creating in ITDS a single system of
international trade data records that is disseminated to and accessible
by federal agencies in accordance with their authorized missions.
Although private parties will always have access to their own data,
strict security controls will be implemented to assure that
confidentiality of individual corporate transactions is respected. We
seek advice as to which parties (brokers, forwarders, carriers,
importer, exporters, others) need access to the record of a
transaction, and what should be the limitations of access. For example,
to what extent should importers have access to data filed by their
customs brokers, carriers, and other service providers, and should the
importer be able to alter these data?
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(4) Coordination with the trade in completing ITDS design report
and transition planning. The ITDS Board is committed to coordinating
with the trade to receive and consider feedback in shaping the final
design report recommendations, and working with other agencies and
organizations and their ongoing activities in doing so. The potential
of the ITDS initiative will most likely be realized through assistance
from the trade in designing the system and developing plans for
transition to the new environment in the future. What recommendations
would you make as to the best means for the trade to coordinate with
the government in moving to the new ITDS environment? What suggestions
would you make as to strategies the government should pursue to
minimize the costs and facilitate the changes required to make this
transition?
Dated: September 25, 1998.
John P. Simpson,
Chairman, International Trade Data System Board of Directors.
[FR Doc. 98-26416 Filed 10-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P
