Proposed Collection; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: International Trade Data System Project Office, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden and in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3505(c)(2)(A)), the Department of

the Treasury invites the general public and other Federal agencies to

comment on continuation of this information collection. Specifically,

the International Trade Data System (ITDS) Project Office within the

Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning the

migration of the ITDS, using the lessons learned in the North American

Trade Automation Prototype (NATAP), to an operational pilot.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before December 13,

1999 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to The Department of the

Treasury, International Trade Data Systems Project Office, Attn:

William Nolle, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 4000, Washington, DC

20229, Telephone (202) 216-2760.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or

copies of the instructions should be directed to The Department of the

Treasury, International Trade Data Systems Project Office, Attn.:

William Nolle, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 4000, Washington, DC

20229, Telephone (202) 216-2760. Information concerning the ITDS can

also be obtained at the following Web Site: http//www.itds.treas.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: The International Trade Data System (formerly North American

Trade Automation Prototype).

OMB Number: 1505-0162.

Abstract: After extensive consultation with the trade community in

Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the NAFTA Information Exchange

and Automation Working Group developed the North American Trade

Automation Prototype (NATAP). Mandated by Article 512 of the NAFTA,

NATAP was developed by the three countries to experiment with

standardized data, advanced automation technologies, communications,

and encryption designed to reduce costs and improve trade among the

three NAFTA countries. The NATAP also served as a proof of concept for

many attributes for the International Trade Data System (ITDS) as

defined in the National Performance Review (NPR) under initiative ``IT

06'' and as noted in the ``Access America'' NPR report ``A09'' in which

the Vice President designated NATAP to validate the International Trade

Data System concept. In addition, NATAP incorporated encryption and

privacy as noted in NPR initiative ``IT10.''

First, the ITDS, which will be totally electronic and incorporate

elements of electronic commerce into government business, seeks OMB

approval for the project to move forward from the prototype environment

through a pilot collection phase, under OMB Control Number 1505-0162,

to:

``Minimize the cost to the Federal Government of the

creation, collection, maintenance, use, dissemination, and disposition

of international trade information.'' (35 U.S.C. 3501(1), (2), and

(5));

``Ensure the integrity, quality, and utility of the

Federal statistical system relating to international trade.'' (35

U.S.C. 3501(9));

``Ensure information technology is acquired, used, and

managed to improve performance of agency missions, including the

reduction of information collection burdens on the public.''(35 U.S.C.

3501(10);

``Maximize practical utility, and eliminate unnecessary

duplication of existing collections.'' (Vice President Gore

Implementation Memorandum, September 15, 1995);

``Minimize Federal paperwork burden on respondents and the

cost of the collection to multiple agencies.'' (Vice President Gore

Implementation Memorandum, September 15, 1995);

``Ensure the greatest possible public benefit from and

maximize the utility of information created, collected, maintained,

used, shared and disseminated by or for the Federal Government as

contained in the National Performance Review study IT-06.'' (Also cited

in Access America, Reengineering Through Information Technology, the

National Performance Review, 3 February 1997, Government Printing

Office.); and

Simplify the international trade process, especially to

open international export trade to those small-to-medium size U.S.

companies who are not trading internationally because they are

intimidated by the complex and confusing trade process that currently

exists.

Second, as each collection agreement is established between a

Federal agency/branch and the ITDS, it is proposed that authority will

be requested from OMB in accordance with the PRA as follows: 1) unless

exempted, all agency collections of information are subject to OMB

review and approval regardless of the collection media or collection

technique (44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c)(1); 60 Federal Register

44978-79 (August 29, 1995): 2) if two or more agencies are obtaining

the same information from the same respondents, the agencies should

agree among themselves which agency will act as the collecting agent

for all of them; and 3) OMB may designate one of the agencies to be the

collecting agency (44 U.S.C. 3509 and 3510). In that regard, the ITDS

is the result of multi-agency cooperation under the auspices of the

National Performance Review and is designed as a system that works

across all functional areas regarding international trade data

collection, processing, use, and storage.

Eliminate Unnecessary Redundant Data Collection--The ITDS project

represents a significant stride to develop a system for all of the

Federal agencies that collect, process, use, disseminate information on

international trade, and it eliminates unnecessary duplication of data

collections from the public. For example, analyses conducted by the

ITDS office and matched against OMB records indicate that for public

data collection approved by the OMB for international trade

information, nearly 90% of the data provided to Federal trade agencies

are redundant.

If the pilot proves successful and is approved for implementation,

as agencies are linked into the ITDS, the Federal government will be

better able to meet the Paperwork Reduction Act objective to eliminate

``unnecessary duplication'' meaning that information similar to or

corresponding to information that could serve the agency's purpose and

need is already accessible to the agency.

Data standardization and elimination of hundreds of forms for data

collections currently approved by the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget is central to

information exchange in the ITDS and provides better government to

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the American people and trade community. Data standardization within

the ITDS will bring down barriers between information systems and

reduce data collection costs.

Pilot Strategy--The strategy for the ITDS pilot is based on phased

development and inter-agency involvement in identifying resource needs,

identified to the inter-agency Board of Directors. The ITDS will test

each information collection through a pilot program (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(1)(A)(v); 5 CFR 1320.8(a)(6)). The ITDS office through

Memoranda of Understandings will establish pilot collections.

Reduced Burden--A goal of the ITDS is to reduce unnecessary

paperwork burden on the American business community. As the ITDS

evolves from pilot to implementation, burden on U.S. businesses will be

greatly reduced; both because of the removal of unnecessary duplication

but also because the ITDS will to the extent possible utilize

information that businesses use in the course of their activities.

Data Security--In the process of assuring protection for

confidentiality, the ITDS and agencies will certify that steps will be

taken to safeguard the integrity of and the confidentiality of

information collected (5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2)(viii).

Current Actions: This is a request to permit the United States

Treasury Department along with the Federal agencies participating in

the ITDS to collect the data for these pilots for a one year period.

Volunteers will be sought to participate in the ITDS pilot in order to

provide traders with the opportunity to experiment with the advanced

technologies and procedures with minimal expense. Through their

evaluation of ITDS, they will have input into future trade processes,

requirements and the design, development, and deployment of the ITDS.

Type of Review: Extension.

Affected Public: Importers, exporters, customs house brokers, and

carriers who volunteer to participate in ITDS.

Estimated Number of Respondents: There are approximately 120 U.S.

participants.

Estimated Time per Respondents: Each response will not exceed 3.5

minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 0 (No additional burden hours

required. Pilot removes the need for parallel processing as stated in

original notice of November 25, 1996. Pilot replaces burden hours for

Customs document CF 3461-ALT 1515-0069.)

Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice

will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All

comments will become a matter of public record. Comments are invited

on: (a) evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency,

including whether the information and the prototype will have practical

utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the

collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of this information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize

the burden of information on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or other forms of information

technology; (e) estimates of capital start-up costs and costs of

operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide

information.

Dated: October 4, 1999.

William L. Nolle,

International Trade Specialist, International Trade Data System Project

Office.

[FR Doc. 99-26305 Filed 10-8-99; 8:45 am]

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