Response with Offer to Supply

OMB Control No. 0625-0272
Expiration Date: MM/DD/202X

Reporting Requirements for Submitting a Response with an Offer to Supply in a
Commercial Availability Proceeding
Submissions for Participation in a US-Colombia TPA Commercial Availability Proceeding
(a) Filing a Submission. All submissions in a US-Colombia TPA commercial availability
proceeding (e.g., Request, Response, Rebuttal, and Request to Remove or Restrict) must be in
English. If any attachments are in a language other than English, then a complete translation
must be provided. Each submission must be submitted to the Chairman of CITA, in care of the
U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (“OTEXA”) in two forms:
email and an original signed submission.
(1) An electronic version of the submission must be either in PDF, Word, or WordPerfect format, must contain an adequate public summary of any business confidential
information and the due diligence certification, and be sent to
[email protected]. The electronic version of the submission will be
posted for public review on the US-Colombia TPA commercial availability website. No
business confidential information should be submitted in the electronic version of any
document.
(2) The original signed submission must be received via express courier to -- Chairman,
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room 30003, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20230.
Any business confidential information upon which an interested entity wishes to rely
must be included in the original signed submission only. Except for the inclusion of
business confidential information and corresponding public summary, the two versions of
a submission should be identical.
(3) Brackets must be placed around all business confidential information contained in
submissions. Documents containing business confidential information must have a
bolded heading stating “Confidential Version.” Attachments considered business
confidential information must have a heading stating “Business Confidential
Information.” Documents, including those submitted electronically, provided for public
release, must have a bolded heading stating “Public Version” and all the business
confidential information must be deleted and substituted with an adequate public
summary.
(4) Generally, details such as quantities and lead times for providing the subject product
can be treated as business confidential information. However, the names of US-Colombia
TPA suppliers who were contacted, what was asked generally about the capability to
manufacture the subject product, and the responses thereto should be included in public
versions, which will be made available to the public.

1

OMB Control No. 0625-0272
Expiration Date: MM/DD/202X

(b) Due Diligence Certification. An interested entity must file a certification of due diligence as
described in subsection (b)(1) with each submission, both electronic and original signed versions,
containing factual information. If the interested entity has legal counsel or other representation,
the legal counsel or other representative must also file a certification of due diligence as
described in subsection (b)(2) with each submission, both electronic and original signed versions,
containing factual information. Accurate representations of material facts submitted to CITA for
the US-Colombia TPA commercial availability proceeding are vital to the integrity of this
process and are necessary for CITA’s effective administration of the statutory scheme. Each
submission containing factual information for CITA’s consideration must be accompanied by the
appropriate certification regarding the accuracy of the factual information. Any submission that
lacks the applicable certifications will be considered an incomplete submission that CITA will
reject and return to the submitter. CITA may verify any factual information submitted by
interested entities in a US-Colombia TPA commercial availability proceeding.
(1) For the person responsible for presentation of the factual information: I, (name and
title), currently employed by (interested entity), certify that (1) I have read the attached
submission, and (2) the information contained in this submission is, to the best of my
knowledge, complete and accurate.
(2) For the person’s legal counsel or other representative: I, (name), of (law or other
firm), counsel or representative to (interested entity), certify that (1) I have read the
attached submission, and (2) based on the information made available to me by (person),
I have no reason to believe that this submission contains any material misrepresentation
or omission of fact.
(c) Official Receipt. A submission will be considered officially submitted to CITA only when
both the electronic version and the original signed submission have been received by CITA. For
Requests, CITA will confirm to the requestor that both versions of the Request were received
through an email confirmation. CITA’s email confirmation shall be considered the “official
receipt” of the Request, and also begins the statutory 30 U.S. business-day process for CITA
consideration of Requests. CITA will confirm official receipt of any Response and Rebuttal by
posting the submissions on the US-Colombia TPA commercial availability website.

Submitting a Response with an Offer to Supply
Responses must meet the requirements outlined in Section 3 of these Procedures. General
comments in support of or opposition to a Request do not meet the requirements of a Response.
A Due Diligence Certification must accompany a Response.
(a) Response With an Offer to Supply Submission. An interested entity (a US-Colombia TPA
supplier) may file a Response to a Request CITA accepted advising CITA of its objection to the
Request and its ability to supply the subject product by providing an offer to supply the subject
product as described in the Request. An interested entity will have 10 U.S. business days after
2

OMB Control No. 0625-0272
Expiration Date: MM/DD/202X

official receipt of a Request to respond to a Request. If good cause is shown, CITA may extend
this deadline.
(b) Contents of a Response with an Offer to Supply.
(1)

File Number. The Response must reference the CITA File Number
assigned to the particular Request being addressed.

(2)

Quantity. The Response must supply the quantity of the subject product
that the respondent is capable of currently supplying, in standard units of
quantity. All measurements must be in metric units. If the English count
system is used in any part, then a conversion to metric units must be provided.

(3)

Production Capability/Demonstration of Ability to Supply. A Response
must contain information supporting the claim to supply the subject product,
or one substitutable, in commercial quantities in a timely manner.
(i)

The Response must report the quantity, in metric units, that the
US-Colombia TPA supplier produced of the subject product, or a
substitutable product, in the preceding 24-month period.

(ii)

For products that have experienced cyclical demand or are not
currently produced, the US-Colombia TPA supplier must indicate
the quantity that has been supplied or offered commercially in the
past, with an explanation of the reasons it is not currently produced
or offered.

(iii)

If the subject product involves a new style, weight, or other
variation that is new to the market or new to the US-Colombia
TPA supplier, then the supplier must provide detailed information
on its current ability to make the subject product in commercial
quantities in a timely manner. Such information could include
current production capacity, current loom availability, and standard
timetables to produce.

(iv)

A US-Colombia TPA supplier may support its claim to be able to
produce the subject product through provision of a sample meeting
exactly the specifications as presented in the Request. However,
the provision of a sample is not required. Regardless of whether a
sample is provided, a respondent must demonstrate its ability to
produce the subject product by providing sufficient relevant
information regarding their production capability. Such
information could include past production of similar products
and/or descriptions of equipment and identification of suppliers
necessary to produce the subject product. If some operations, such
3

OMB Control No. 0625-0272
Expiration Date: MM/DD/202X

as finishing, will be completed by other entities, the name of the
facility and contact information must be provided.

(4)

(v)

The Response may provide, if relevant, the basis for the USColombia TPA supplier’s rationale that other products that are
supplied by the US-Colombia TPA supplier in commercial
quantities in a timely manner are substitutable for the subject
product(s) for purposes of the intended use, supported by
measurable criteria.

(vi)

In its review of a Response, CITA will consider whether the USColombia TPA supplier was responsive to the efforts employed by
the requestor to obtain the subject product in the course of due
diligence. In the event that a US-Colombia TPA supplier was not
responsive, a US-Colombia TPA supplier must provide a
reasonable explanation in its Response as to why it did not respond
to earlier inquiries by the requestor in the course of due diligence.
CITA will reject a Response if it does not include such
explanation.

Due Diligence. The Response must provide a complete description of the
due diligence undertaken by the US-Colombia TPA supplier to substantiate
the ability to supply the subject product. If a US-Colombia TPA supplier has
participated in the requestor’s undertaking of due diligence, the supplier must
provide certain information in response to the requestor’s inquiries.
(i)

If a US-Colombia TPA supplier has been responsive to a requestor
in the undertaking of due diligence, the US-Colombia TPA
supplier must have stated its ability to supply or not supply the
subject product. If the product can be supplied, the response to the
inquiry must contain information supporting the US-Colombia
TPA supplier’s claim to supply the subject product, or one
substitutable, in commercial quantities in a timely manner.

(ii)

If a US-Colombia TPA supplier offers to supply the subject
product, the supplier may support its offer by reporting the
quantity, in metric units, that it has produced of the subject
product, or a substitutable product, in the preceding 24-month
period. If the US-Colombia TPA supplier does not provide such
information, it must, subject to section 6(b)(4)(vii), explain why
the information it has provided sufficiently supports its offer to
supply.

(iii)

In response to a requestor’s inquiry, for products that have
experienced cyclical demand or are not currently produced, the
4

OMB Control No. 0625-0272
Expiration Date: MM/DD/202X

US-Colombia TPA supplier must provide the requestor the
quantity that has been supplied or offered commercially in the past,
with an explanation of the reasons it is not currently produced or
offered.
(iv)

If the subject product involves a new style, weight, or other
variation that is new to the market or new to the US-Colombia
TPA supplier, then the supplier must provide detailed information
on its current ability to make the subject product in commercial
quantities in a timely manner. Such information could include
current production capacity, current loom availability, and standard
timetables to produce the subject product.

(v)

A US-Colombia TPA supplier may support its claim to be able to
produce the subject product through provision of a sample meeting
the specifications as presented in an inquiry. However, the
provision of a sample is not required. Regardless of whether a
sample is provided, the US-Colombia TPA supplier must
demonstrate its ability to produce the subject product by providing
sufficient relevant information regarding their production
capability. Such information could include past production of
similar products and/or descriptions of equipment and
identification of suppliers necessary to produce the subject
product. If some operations, such as finishing, will be completed
by other entities, the name of the facility and contact information
must be provided.

(vi)

A response to a requestor’s inquiry must provide, as applicable, the
basis for the US-Colombia TPA supplier’s rationale that other
products that are supplied by the US-Colombia TPA supplier in
commercial quantities in a timely manner are substitutable for the
subject product for purposes of the intended use, supported by
measurable criteria.

(vii)

Nothing in these procedures shall require any US-Colombia TPA
supplier to provide business confidential or other commercially
sensitive information to a requestor. However, a US-Colombia
TPA supplier must provide the requestor a reasonable explanation
why such information was not provided and why the information it
has provided sufficiently supports its offer to supply.

(5)
Location of the US-Colombia TPA supplier. The Response must provide the
name, address, phone number, and email address of a contact person at the facility
claimed to be able to supply the subject product.
5