2008.11—Mandatory review for declassification.
(a) Requests for mandatory review.
(1)
Requests for mandatory review for declassification under section 3-501 of Executive Order 12065 must be in writing and should be addressed to:
Attn.: General Counsel (Mandatory Review Request), Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, 1800 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20506.
(2)
The requestor shall be informed of the date of receipt of the request. This date will be the basis for the time limits specified in paragraph (b) of this section.
(3)
If the request does not reasonably describe the information sought, the requestor shall be notified that, unless additional information is provided or the request is made more specific, no further action will be taken.
(b) Review.
(1)
The requestor shall be informed of the Special Trade Representative's determination within sixty days of receipt of the initial request.
(2)
If the determination is to withhold some or all of the material requested, the requestor may appeal the determination. The requestor shall be informed that such an appeal must be made in writing within sixty days of receipt of the denial and should be addressed to the chairperson of the Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations Classification Review Committee.
(3)
The requestor shall be informed of the appellate determination within thirty days of receipt of the appeal.
(c) Fees.
(1)
Fees for the location and reproduction of information that is the subject of a mandatory review request shall be assessed according to the following schedule:
(i) Search for records:
$5.00 per hour when the search is conducted by a clerical employee; $8.00 per hour when the search is conducted by a professional employee. No fee shall be assessed for searches of less than one hour.
(ii) Reproduction of documents:
Documents will be reproduced at a rate of $.25 per page for all copying of four pages or more. No fee shall be assessed for reproducing documents that are three pages or less, or for the first three pages of longer documents.
(2)
When fees chargeable under this section will amount to more than $25, and the requestor has not indicated in advance a willingness to pay fees higher than that amount, the requestor shall be promptly notified of the amount of the anticipated fee or such portion thereof as can readily be estimated. In instances where the estimated fees will greatly exceed $25, an advance deposit may be required. Dispatch of such a notice or request shall suspend the running of the period for response by the Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations until a reply is received from the requestor.
(3)
Remittances shall be in the form either of a personal check or bank draft drawn on a bank in the United States, or a postal money order. Remittances shall be made payable to U.S. Treasurer and mailed to the Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, 1800 G St., NW., Washington, DC.
(4)
A receipt for fees paid will be given only upon request. No refund of fees paid for services actually rendered will be made.
(5)
The Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations may waive all or part of any fee provided for in this section when it is deemed to be in the interest of either the Agency or the general public.