United States Department of Commerce

The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is a Cabinet Department of the United States government with a sizable mandate to boost economic growth and jobs opportunities for the American people. The US Department of Commerce was established to inspire American businesses to be innovative on the domestic front and competitive on the international front.

The products and services the Commerce Department provides directly or indirectly touch the lives of all Americans and American companies in one way or another. It comprises of 12 different agencies that look after everything from weather forecast trademark, to patent protection for businesses and inventors, to the decennial census, and so on.

The main goal of the DOC, set at its inception in 1903, was the development of commerce to provide new opportunities to Americans as well as American businesses. This remains the main goal of the department today.

Mission

The main mission of the US Department of Commerce is to ensure advanced economic growth and provide jobs and opportunities to American people. It also has some major responsibilities in areas such as entrepreneurship, economic development, environmental stewardship, trade and statistical research and analysis.

The importance of DOC

The US Department of Commerce is assigned with the responsibility of supporting America’s economic growth and stability both at domestic as well as at international levels. This becomes more critical in times of domestic recession or global financial turmoil. The programs of the DOC are initiated with the motive of promoting trade, conducting research, developing technologies, and measuring featuring the financial success of the US economy on a regular basis.

The research conducted by the DOC estimates the seats a state will get in the US House of Representatives. The DOC guides the government as well as industry experts in keeping track of the overall health of the economy and also helps them in framing economic policies.

Relation with ICANN

The DOC and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) signed an agreement known as the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) on September 29, 2006, with a view of developing methods, mechanisms and procedures mandatory to effect the transition of Internet Domain name and addressing system (DNS) to the private sector. The Department of Commerce supports the work of ICANN and co-ordinates with it on the various technical functions associated to the management of Internet DNS. Preserving the security and stability of the Internet DNS is considered as a major priority by both the DOC as well as ICANN.

The DOC and ICANN also have a contract between them wherein they carry out the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions together. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have been assigned with the responsibility of overlooking both these agreements on behalf of the DOC. According to Carlos Afonso, a former member of ICANN’s support organization, Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), which represents the non-commercial users , formal relation between ICANN and the DOC is such that ICANN works as an incumbent or concessionaire and is subject to regulation by the US Federal Government .