# ITA Implements Information Quality Guidelines

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has implemented Information Quality Guidelines pursuant to Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001. These guidelines establish standards and procedures to ensure the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by ITA, including trade and market data used in policy and procurement decisions. The guidelines require pre-dissemination reviews and provide an administrative correction mechanism for affected parties to request corrections of disseminated information. This impacts procurement professionals and contractors by mandating adherence to these quality standards in data collection, analysis, and reporting processes, particularly for third-party data and contractor-produced analyses supporting ITA activities.

- Procurement professionals must ensure that all data and reports submitted to ITA comply with the established quality, objectivity, and utility standards.
- Contractors providing trade data or market assessments to ITA should incorporate rigorous quality control and be prepared to address administrative correction requests.
- Compliance with these guidelines is integral to ITA’s information dissemination and collection processes, affecting contract requirements and vendor evaluations.
- Organizations involved in ITA procurements should familiarize themselves with the administrative correction procedures and the reproducibility standards emphasized by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Professional Services, Information Technology
**Topics:** Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** September 09, 2026

### Government Entities
- International Trade Administration (ITA)
- Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
- Department of Commerce (DOC)

### Key Quotes
> The purpose of the reproducibility standard is to cultivate a consistent agency commitment to transparency about how analytic results are generated: the specific data used, the various assumptions employed, the specific analytic methods applied, and the statistical procedures employed.
> — OMB Guidelines Supplementary Information

> The burden of proof is on the requester to show both the necessity and type of correction sought.
> — ITA Information Quality Guidelines

> Information quality comes at a cost.
> — OMB Guidelines

### Sources
- [ITA Information Quality Guidelines](https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/ITA%20Quality%20Assurance%20Statement.pdf?v=1788614033951) - ITA
- [ITA Information Quality Guidelines](https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/ITA%20Quality%20Assurance%20Statement.pdf?v=1788700284513) - ITA
- [ITA Information Quality Guidelines](https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/ITA%20Quality%20Assurance%20Statement.pdf?v=1788786707654) - ITA