The purpose of the regulations in this part is to maintain the highest standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality, and conduct on the part of all employees of the U.S. International Trade Commission and to maintain public confidence that the business of the Commission is being conducted in accordance with such standards.

In this part:

(a) Commission means the U.S. International Trade Commission.

(b) Commissioner means a Commissioner of the U.S. International Trade Commission.

(c) Employee means a Commissioner, employee, or special Government employee of the Commission.

(d) Executive order means Executive Order 11222 of May 8, 1965.

(e) Person means an individual, a corporation, a company, an association, a firm, a partnership, a society, a joint stock company, or any other organization or institution.

(f) Special Government employee means a “special Government employee” as defined in section 202 of Title 18 of the United States Code who is employed by the Commission.

(a) The Chairman shall appoint a Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) who serves as liaison to the Office of Government Ethics and who is responsible for carrying out the Commission's ethics program. The program shall be designed to implement titles II, IV, and V of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, Executive Order No. 11222, the regulations in this part, and other statutes and regulations applicable to agency ethics matters. The DAEO will be a senior Commission employee with experience demonstrating the ability to review financial disclosure reports and counsel employees with regard to resolving conflicts of interest, review the financial disclosures of Presidential nominees to the Commission prior to confirmation hearings, counsel employees with regard to ethics standards, assist supervisors in implementing the Commission's ethics program, and periodically evaluate the ethics program.

(b) The Chairman shall select an Alternate Agency Ethics Official who will serve as Deputy DAEO to whom any of the DAEO's statutory and regulatory duties may be delegated.

(c) The DAEO shall coordinate and manage the agency's ethics program. The DAEO duties shall consist of:

(1) Liaison with the Office of Government Ethics;

(2) Review of financial disclosure reports, including reports filed by Presidential nominees to the Commission;

(3) Initiation and maintenance of ethics education and training programs;

(4) Monitoring administrative actions and sanctions; and

(5) Implementation of the specific program elements listed in Office of Government Ethics regulations, 5 CFR 738.203(b).

(a) An employee who violates any of the regulations in this part may be disciplined. The disciplinary action may be in addition to any other penalty prescribed by law for the violation. In addition to, or in lieu of, disciplinary action, remedial action to end conflicts or appearance of conflicts of interest may include, but is not limited to:

(1) Changes in assigned duties;

(2) Divestment by the employee of his conflicting interest; or

(3) Disqualification for a particular assignment.

(b) Remedial action, whether disciplinary or otherwise, shall be effected in accordance with any applicable laws, Executive orders, and regulations.