Appendix C: Performance Measures Definitions

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.2

Advance responsible economic growth and trade while protecting American security

PERFORMANCE OUTCOME: Identify and resolve unfair trade practices (ITA)

Performance Measure:

• Percentage of AD/CVD proceedings completed within statutory deadlines

The percentage of antidumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) cases completed on time is a reflection of the vigilance of ITA staff to complete its casework within the statutory timeframe. Domestic industry generates AD/CVD cases, and the timeliness of case activity is a critical factor for delivering customer satisfaction and essential for upholding the integrity of the AD/CVD laws as a credible and fair legal mechanism to address unfair trade actions by foreign interests. The timely completion of these cases may have a direct correlation to the ability of petitioning U.S. firms to remain viable when a firm may be subjected to unfair trading practices. Ensuring expedient completion of cases offers firms the best timeframe for determining if they are being injured by an unfair trading practice. The stated target reflects management’s prioritization of adherence to statutory requirements. ITA is required to complete these cases within the time limits set forth in law.

Performance Measures:

• Number of market access and trade compliance cases initiated
• Number of market access and compliance cases resolved
• Percentage of market access and compliance cases resolved successfully
• Percentage of market access and compliance cases that have an action plan within 10 days of initiation
• Percentage of market access and compliance cases initiated for on behalf of small and medium-sized businesses

Market access cases arise from complaints received by ITA from U.S. companies encountering overseas barriers to U.S. exports, which are not covered by trade agreements. Compliance cases rise from complaints received by ITA from U.S. companies regarding failures by foreign governments to implement trade agreements negotiated by the United States and through monitoring efforts by ITA compliance officers. The first measure assesses the extent of ITA’s efforts to monitor trade agreements, identify and initiate market access and compliance (MAC) cases on behalf of U.S. businesses, and work to their resolution. The second measure addresses ITA’s efforts in obtaining market access for U.S. exporters and achieving foreign-government compliance with trade agreements. The number of MAC cases resolved is based on the number of cases processed by ITA where no further action by ITA is warranted. The third measure is a subset of the number of MAC cases resolved. A success is determined via collaborative effort between the MAC team working on the case and the company/industry that initiated the case. Examples of successes include prompting a country to remove or suspend a trade barrier, ensuring U.S. concerns are incorporated into a trade agreement or foreign regulation, and prompting a foreign government to adopt an internationally recognized standard or legal statute that either encourages fair trade or prevents restrictive trade barriers. The fourth measure gauges ITA’s effectiveness in developing a timely and actionable plan with the client to resolve a case and looks at the percentage of cases over a longer period of time, as well as on an annual basis to encourage more rapid action. The action plan must include a list of specific measures or actions to be taken by either the U.S. government or the company in order to resolve the trade problem. This measure also assesses ITA’s ability to communicate with the client and manage the client relationship between ITA and the company.

PERFORMANCE OUTCOME: Maintain and strengthen an adaptable and effective U.S. export control and treaty compliance system (BIS)

Performance Measure:

• Percent of licenses requiring interagency referral referred within 9 days

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) administers dual-use commodity export controls. Dual-use commodities include any product that may have both civilian and military applications. To export dual-use commodities outside the United States, companies must apply for an approval license from BIS. Generally, dual-use commodity license applications fall into two categories: (1) referred licenses (approximately 85 percent of applications), including those licenses that require an opinion from another agency (e.g., Departments of State and Energy, Central Intelligence Agency, etc.); and (2) non-referred licenses, license requests that BIS may review/approve without being referred to any other federal agency. Executive Order 12981 stipulates that BIS refer 100 percent of the licenses needing referral within nine days. However, the licensing process is subject to uncontrollable delays. Therefore, BIS used historical data to set a target of 95 percent. This measure focuses on the effectiveness of BIS meeting the target of referring 95 percent of those licenses requiring referral within nine days.

Performance Measure:

• Median processing time for new regime regulations (months)

BIS routinely issues new and amended regulations to effectuate its responsibilities under the Export Administration Act (EAA). Whether regulations liberalize or restrict industry activity, their prompt promulgation benefits the United States from a trade, economic, and national security perspective. Regulatory changes can, for example, reduce the number of license requirements imposed on U.S. exporters, close loopholes in the regulations, implement international agreements, adapt controls to geopolitical developments, or address new export control challenges. The majority of BIS regulations issued implement changes agreed to in the four multilateral control regimes in which the United States participates: Wassenaar Arrangement (conventional arms and related sensitive dual-use goods), Nuclear Suppliers Group, Missile Technology Control Regime, and the Australia Group (chemical and biological controls). This measure tracks the length of time it takes BIS to issue a draft regulation after regime changes have been received and analyzed. There is a significant amount of time that is spent analyzing each regime resolution before actual drafting of a regulation can begin.

Performance Measure:

• Percent of attendees rating seminars highly

BIS advances trade while promoting national security with an industry outreach program to facilitate compliance with U.S. export controls. Seminars include one-day programs on the major elements of the U.S. dual-use export control system and intensive two-day programs that provide comprehensive presentation of exporter obligations under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). BIS conducts special topic seminars, such as exporter obligations, doing business with key trading partners, or key technologies. This metric focuses on overall effectiveness of the export control outreach seminar program. The target is for at least 85 percent of the seminar attendees to give the seminar an overall rating of at least 4 (out of a 5 level scale).

Performance Measure:

• Percent of declarations received from U.S. industry in accordance with CWC regulations (time lines) that are processed, certified, and submitted to the State Department in time so the United States can meet its treaty obligations

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) establishes a verification regime for weapons-related toxic chemicals and precursors that have peaceful applications. BIS’s CWC regulations require U.S. industry exceeding certain chemical activity thresholds to submit declarations and reports. BIS processes, validates, and aggregates the declarations and reports to develop the U.S. CWC industrial declaration, which is forwarded to the Department of State in time to submit it to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, within established time frames mandated under the CWC. This measure is designed to measure the rate of U.S. industry in complying with the declaration provisions of the CWC regulations.

Performance Measure:

• Number of actions that result in a deterrence or prevention of a violation and cases which result in a criminal and/or administrative charge

This measure captures the actual number of Export Enforcement leads and cases that result in a deterrence or prevention of a violation. Prevention may be accomplished by an investigative lead which results in agent outreach to a business, a freight forwarder, or any party to an export, and deters or prevents an unauthorized export. This measure will reflect the actual number and type of preventive enforcement actions conducted, including detentions of suspect exports, seizures of unauthorized shipments, industry outreach and issuance of warning letters for first time and/or minor export offenses, screened licenses targeted for enforcement concerns, recommended denials of license applications based on diversion or false statement indicators, recommended placement of parties on the Unverified List and denials on visa requests, detection of violations of license conditions, and other preventive actions that identify and prevent suspect transactions. The implementation of this measure allows BIS to gauge its overall effectiveness in terms of successful prosecutions and preventive enforcement. BIS monitors and enhances compliance with license conditions by detecting and prosecuting violations of such conditions.

PERFORMANCE OUTCOME: Integrate non-U.S. actors to create a more effective global export control and treaty compliance system (BIS)

Performance Measure:

• Number of end-use checks completed

BIS conducts end-use verification checks with a primary means being Sentinel visits conducted under the Sentinel Program. During Sentinel trips, BIS agents attempt to verify bona fides of consignees named on a BIS license, and confirm that the equipment is being used in conformance with conditions on the license. Each trip requires a team of two special agents for nearly six weeks to perform target analysis, pre-departure technical training, actual travel, and the subsequent post-trip briefings and final report. The end-use check workload is likely to increase significantly.

PERFORMANCE OUTCOME: Ensure continued U.S. technology leadership in industries that are essential to national security (BIS)

Performance Measure:

• Percent of industry assessments resulting in BIS determination, within three months of completion, on whether to revise export controls

BIS assesses the current status of technologies employed in U.S. industries whose products are subject to export controls to determine: (1) if those technologies have changed in such ways that existing controls should be revised or new controls should be imposed, and (2) if the control criteria remain pertinent and relevant or should be altered so the controls achieve the greatest possible beneficial effect and avoid unintended consequences. BIS anticipates that such assessments will be of such importance to its decision-making concerning revising existing or imposing new controls that 100 percent of the export control-focused industry assessments BIS conducts will be instrumental in determining whether—and, if so, how—to revise existing or establish new export controls.