Description of Value-Added Process

Description of Value-Added Process

The attached flowchart titled “Outline of Value-Added Process at the United States International Trade Commission” outlines the process by which inputs at the THE ORGANIZATION result in value added to an end product. Much of the work performed at the Commission is intrinsic, involving the critical evaluation of data and information. One tangible end result of the THE ORGANIZATION’s work, however, will always include a substantial report for every investigation completed. The following is a breakdown of the value-added process at the Commission:

1) Domestic companies file complaints with the THE ORGANIZATION regarding what they consider to be unfair trade practices being conducted by foreign companies in the United States.

2) In response to a sizable enough petition of domestic company complaints, administrative staff at the THE ORGANIZATION will initiate an investigation. At this point, an investigation team that includes six Commission employees will be formed. Each employee is a specialist of some kind, and the individual strengths of team members combine to create a cohesive working group that together will create a report. Each team is made up of a: supervisor, economist, industry specialist, accountant, lawyer, and statistician.

3) The economist and industry specialist will work together to mail out surveys to a variety of companies engaged in business involving products included in the scope of the investigation. These surveys are mailed to both foreign and domestic producers and importers, and proprietary business data (i.e. sales figures, costs of goods sold, and profit margins) are sought.

4) As surveys are returned to the Commission, the statistician assigned to the investigation compiles all the fiscal data into one excel worksheet that includes a range of auto-calculated data tables. These resulting data tables, as well as verbal feedback contained in the surveys, are used in the writing of the report. The Commission may invoke subpoena power for companies who refuse to respond to the surveys.

5) The 4 members of the investigation team, not including the supervisor or statistician, proceed to use the summarized numerical and verbal survey feedback to write a comprehensive report. The report is often quite lengthy, but includes an objective analysis of the industry specific to the investigation, and features the data tables prepared by the statistician.

6) The six THE ORGANIZATION president-appointed and senate-approved Commissioners then, with the help of their aides, review the reports that staff has prepared. The Commissioners use the content of the report to best understand the current economic situation facing domestic companies in the industry specific to the investigation.

7) Based on their assessment of the risk of material injury facing domestic companies, the Commissioners take a vote to determine if any action should necessarily be taken. The Commissioners can choose to ban imports of certain goods from certain countries, place tariffs on certain incoming goods, or take no action at all.

The THE ORGANIZATION’s value-added process seeks to address the concerns of US domestic companies with a comprehensive investigation, and even legal action when necessary. In the process, six specialists add value by combining their abilities to produce a written report that is unbiased and far-reaching. The resulting report is tangible, and clearly evidences the outcome of the focused value-added activities listed above.