Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 5468-5471 [05-1952]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 2, 2005 / Notices
agency that has control of the Native
American human remains. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
An assessment of the human remains,
and catalog records and associated
documents relevant to the human
remains, was made by Phoebe A. Hearst
Museum of Anthropology professional
staff in consultation with
representatives of the Pala Band of
Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala
Reservation, California.
In 1907, human remains representing
at least two individuals were removed
from an unknown location in northeast
San Diego County, CA, by T.T.
Waterman and donated to the Phoebe A.
Hearst Museum of Anthropology the
same year. The site was located on
‘‘Warner’s Ranch,’’ approximately 5
miles north of the Warner house, and 4
miles northwest of Warner Springs (also
known at the time as Warner Hot
Springs and as Aqua [sic] Caliente). No
known individuals were identified. No
associated funerary objects are present.
The village site at Warner’s Ranch
belonged to the Cupeno Tribe. After
eviction by a later owner, the Cupeno,
in 1903, were moved to the Pala
Reservation where their descendents
still live. The Pala Reservation is now
known as the Pala Band of Luiseno
Mission Indians. The historic era burial
practice, the existence of historic
textiles, which are integral with the
human remains, and the general
location indicate that the human
remains were Cupeno.
Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst
Museum of Anthropology have
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C.
3001 (9–10), the human remains
described above represent the physical
remains of at least two individuals of
Native American ancestry. Officials of
the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of
Anthropology also have determined
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2),
there is a relationship of shared group
identity that can be reasonably traced
between the Native American human
remains and the Pala Band of Luiseno
Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation,
California.
Representatives of any other Indian
tribe that believes itself to be culturally
affiliated with the human remains
should contact C. Richard Hitchcock,
NAGPRA Coordinator, Phoebe A. Hearst
Museum of Anthropology, University of
California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
94720, telephone (510) 642–6096, before
March 4, 2005. Repatriation of the
human remains to the Pala Band of
Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala
Reservation, California may proceed
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after that date if no additional claimants
come forward.
The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of
Anthropology is responsible for
notifying the Pala Band of Luiseno
Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation,
California that this notice has been
published.
Dated: December 20, 2004
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 05–1955 Filed 2–1–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–50–S
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
U.S. International Trade
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed collection;
comment request.
AGENCY:
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.
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.
DATES:
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
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(telephone no. (202) 205–3180; e-mail
address-Debra.Baker@usitc.gov).
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 (https://
www.usitc.gov). The draft Supporting
Statement is also on the Commission’s
Web site (at https://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 interferencewith-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
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 2, 2005 / Notices
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 forprofit institutions; responses are
mandatory.
The institution notices for the fiveyear 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 longestablished, 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 fiveyear 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
Producer
questionnaires 1
Item
Importer
questionnaires 2
Purchaser
questionnaires 3
Foreign producer
questionnaires 4
Institution notices
for 5-year reviews 5
Total
Estimated burden hours imposed annually for July 2005–June 2008
Number of respondents .........
Frequency of response ..............
Total annual responses ............
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952
1,370
1,070
814
61
4,267
1
1
1
1
1
1
952
1,370
1,070
814
61
4,267
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 2, 2005 / Notices
TABLE 1.—PROJECTED ANNUAL BURDEN DATA, BY TYPE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION, JULY 2005–JUNE 2008—
Continued
Producer
questionnaires 1
Item
Hours per response ..............
Total hours ....
Importer
questionnaires 2
52.7
50,170
Purchaser
questionnaires 3
38.5
52,745
Foreign producer
questionnaires 4
Institution notices
for 5-year reviews 5
50.6
41,188
14.8
904
26.3
28,141
Total
40.6
173,148
1 Producer questionnaires.—Estimates based upon the following variables: number of respondents (anticipated caseload (×) 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 (×) 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 (×) 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 (×) 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,
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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
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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
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 2, 2005 / Notices
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
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
COMMISSION
[Investigations Nos. 701–TA–302 and 731–
TA–454 (Second Review)]
Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon
From Norway
United States International
Trade Commission.
ACTION: Institution of five-year reviews
concerning the countervailing duty and
antidumping duty orders on fresh and
chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives
notice that it has instituted reviews
pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)) (the Act)
to determine whether revocation of the
countervailing duty and antidumping
duty orders on fresh and chilled
Atlantic salmon from Norway would be
likely to lead to continuation or
recurrence of material injury. Pursuant
to section 751(c)(2) of the Act, interested
parties are requested to respond to this
notice by submitting the information
specified below to the Commission; 1 to
be assured of consideration, the
deadline for responses is March 23,
2005. Comments on the adequacy of
responses may be filed with the
Commission by April 18, 2005. For
further information concerning the
conduct of these reviews and rules of
general application, consult the
Commission’s Rules of Practice and
Procedure, part 201, subparts A through
E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207,
subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part
207).
EFFECTIVE DATES: February 2, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Messer (202–205–3193), Office of
Investigations, U.S. International Trade
Commission, 500 E Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20436. Hearing1 No response to this request for information is
required if a currently valid Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) number is not displayed; the
OMB number is 3117–0016/USITC No. 05–5–109,
expiration date June 30, 2005. Public reporting
burden for the request is estimated to average 7
hours per response. Please send comments
regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to
the Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade
Commission, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC
20436.
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Jkt 205001
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 (https://
www.usitc.gov). The public record for
these reviews may be viewed on the
Commission’s electronic docket (EDIS)
at https://edis.usitc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background.—On April 12, 1991, the
Department of Commerce issued
countervailing duty and antidumping
duty orders on imports of fresh and
chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway
(56 FR 14920, 14921). Following fiveyear reviews by Commerce and the
Commission, effective March 13, 2000,
Commerce issued a continuation of the
countervailing duty and antidumping
duty orders on imports of fresh and
chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway
(65 FR 13358). The Commission is now
conducting second reviews to determine
whether revocation of the orders would
be likely to lead to continuation or
recurrence of material injury to the
domestic industry within a reasonably
foreseeable time. It will assess the
adequacy of interested party responses
to this notice of institution to determine
whether to conduct full reviews or
expedited reviews. The Commission’s
determinations in any expedited
reviews will be based on the facts
available, which may include
information provided in response to this
notice.
Definitions.—The following
definitions apply to these reviews:
(1) Subject Merchandise is the class or
kind of merchandise that is within the
scope of the five-year reviews, as
defined by the Department of
Commerce.
(2) The Subject Country in these
reviews is Norway.
(3) The Domestic Like Product is the
domestically produced product or
products which are like, or in the
absence of like, most similar in
characteristics and uses with, the
Subject Merchandise. In its original
determinations and expedited five-year
review determinations, the Commission
defined the Domestic Like Product as
fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon,
including salmon smolts.
(4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S.
producers as a whole of the Domestic
Like Product, or those producers whose
collective output of the Domestic Like
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5471
Product constitutes a major proportion
of the total domestic production of the
product. In its original determinations
and its expedited five-year review
determinations, the Commission
defined the Domestic Industry as all
domestic producers of fresh and chilled
Atlantic salmon, including salmon
smolts.
(5) An Importer is any person or firm
engaged, either directly or through a
parent company or subsidiary, in
importing the Subject Merchandise into
the United States from a foreign
manufacturer or through its selling
agent.
Participation in the reviews and
public service list.—Persons, including
industrial users of the Subject
Merchandise and, if the merchandise is
sold at the retail level, representative
consumer organizations, wishing to
participate in the reviews as parties
must file an entry of appearance with
the Secretary to the Commission, as
provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the
Commission’s rules, no later than 21
days after publication of this notice in
the Federal Register. The Secretary will
maintain a public service list containing
the names and addresses of all persons,
or their representatives, who are parties
to the reviews.
Former Commission employees who
are seeking to appear in Commission
five-year reviews are reminded that they
are required, pursuant to 19 CFR 201.15,
to seek Commission approval if the
matter in which they are seeking to
appear was pending in any manner or
form during their Commission
employment. The Commission is
seeking guidance as to whether a second
transition five-year review is the ‘‘same
particular matter’’ as the underlying
original investigation for purposes of 19
CFR 201.15 and 18 U.S.C. 207, the post
employment statute for Federal
employees. Former employees may seek
informal advice from Commission ethics
officials with respect to this and the
related issue of whether the employee’s
participation was ‘‘personal and
substantial.’’ However, any informal
consultation will not relieve former
employees of the obligation to seek
approval to appear from the
Commission under its rule 201.15. For
ethics advice, contact Carol McCue
Verratti, Deputy Agency Ethics Official,
at 202–205–3088.
Limited disclosure of business
proprietary information (BPI) under an
administrative protective order (APO)
and APO service list.—Pursuant to
section 207.7(a) of the Commission’s
rules, the Secretary will make BPI
submitted in these reviews available to
authorized applicants under the APO
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5468-5471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1952]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed collection; comment request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
address-Debra.Baker@usitc.gov). 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 (https://www.usitc.gov). The draft Supporting Statement
is also on the Commission's Web site (at https://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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Producer Importer Purchaser Foreign producer Institution
Item questionnaires questionnaires questionnaires questionnaires notices for 5- Total
\1\ \2\ \3\ \4\ year reviews \5\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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
