Commerce IG Office Still Hitting Roadblocks in ITA Audit, Says Top Official
The Justice Department is expected “imminently” to deliver a legal opinion advising the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General on whether it can access business propriety information (BPI) when conducting audits of the International Trade Administration, said Commerce’s Acting Inspector General David Smith in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Aug. 5. Both the ITA and Commerce’s Office of General Counsel previously warned that access to BPI, which is confidential information, may violate the Tariff Act of 1930 and subject Commerce to “criminal litigation and penalties,” said Smith (here).
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Smith's office launched an ITA audit in “earlier this year … to ensure it was conducting quality and timely trade remedy determinations,” Smith said. The Inspector General office proposed a method of keeping company names anonymous in releasing the BPI, but Commerce’s legal team advised against going further with the audit until the Justice opinion surfaces, said the testimony. “After two months of trying to get access to the information, we had no choice but to terminate the stalled audit because of the Department’s refusal to provide the requested information,” Smith said. The refusal to submit information harms the Inspector General’s ability to provide oversight, he said.