Trade.gov - ETCA - Export Trading Company Act of 1982

Office of Trade Policy & Analysis

Browse by Subject

Our Offices

Export Trading Company Affairs (ETCA)

EXPORT TRADING COMPANY ACT OF 1982

PUBLIC LA 97-290--OCT. 8, 1982 96 STAT. 1233

97TH Congress

An Act

To encourage exports by facilitating the formation and operation of export trading companies, export trade associations, and the expansion of export trade services generally.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SHORT TITLE

Sec. 101. This title may be cited as the "Export Trading Company Act of 1982".

FINDINGS; DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

Sec. 102. (a) The Congress finds that --

(1) United States exports are responsible for creating and maintaining one out of every nine manufacturing jobs in the United States and for generating one out of every seven dollars of total United States goods produced;

(2) the rapidly growing service-related industries are vital to the well-being of the United States economy inasmuch as they create jobs for seven out of every ten Americans, provide 65 per centum of the Nation's gross national product , and offer the greatest potential for significantly increased industrial trade involving finished products;

(3) trade deficits contribute to the decline of the dollar on international currency markets and have an inflationary impact on the United States economy;

(4) tens of thousands of small- and medium-sized United States businesses produce exportable goods or services but do not engage in exporting;

(5) although the United States is the world's leading agricultural exporting nation, many farm products are not marketed as widely and effectively abroad as they could be through export trading companies;

(6) export trade services in the United States are fragmented into a multitude of separate functions, and companies attempting to offer export trade services lack financial leverage to reach a significant number of potential United States exporters;

(7) the United States needs well-developed export trade intermediaries which can achieve economies of scale and acquire expertise enabling them to export goods and services profitably, at low per unit cost to producers;

(8) the development of export trading companies in the United States has been hampered by business attitudes and by government regulations;

(9) those activities of State and local governmental authorities which initiate, facilitate, or expand exports of goods and services can be an important source for expansion of total United States exports, as well as for experimentation in the development of innovative export programs keyed to local, State, and regional economic needs;

(10) if United States trading companies are to be successful in promoting United States exports and in competing with foreign trading companies, they should be able to draw on the resources, expertise, and knowledge of the United States banking system, both in the United States and abroad; and

(11) the Department of Commerce is responsible for the development and promotion of United States exports, and especially for facilitating the export of finished products by United States manufacturers.

(b) It is the purpose of this Act to increase United States exports of products and services by encouraging more efficient provisions of export trade services to United States producers and suppliers, in particular by establishing an office within the Department of Commerce to promote the formation of export trade associations and export trading companies, by permitting bank holding companies, bankers' banks, and Edge Act corporations and agreement corporations that are subsidiaries of bank holding companies to invest in export trading companies, by reducing restrictions on trade finance provided by financial institutions, and by modifying the application of the antitrust laws to certain export trade.

DEFINITION

SEC. 103 (a) For purpose of this title--

(1) the term "export trade" means trade or commerce in goods or services produced in the United States which are exported, or in the course of being exported, from the United States to any other country;

(2) the term "services" includes, but is not limited to, accounting, amusement, architectural, automatic data processing, business, communications, construction franchising and licensing, consulting, engineering, financial, insurance, legal, management, repair, tourism, training, and transportation services;

(3) the term "export trade services" includes, but is not, limited to, consulting, international market research, advertising, marketing, insurance, product research and design, legal assistance, transportation, including trade documentation and freight forwarding, communication and processing off foreign order to and for exporters and foreign purchasers, warehousing, foreign exchange, finance, and taking title to foods, when provided in order to facilitate the export of goods or services produced in the United States;

(4) the term "export trading company" means a person, partnership, association, or similar organization, whether operated for profit or as a nonprofit organization, which does business under the laws of the United States or any State and which is organized and operated principally for proposed of --

(A) exporting goods or services produced in the United States; or

(B) facilitating the exportation of goods or services produced in the United States by unaffiliated persons by providing one or more export trade services;

(5) the term "State" means any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands;

(6) the term "United States" means the several States of the United States , the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; and

(7) the term "antitrust laws" means the antitrust laws as defined in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 (a)), section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C 45) to the extent that section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition, and any States antitrust or unfair competition law.

(b) The Secretary of Commerce may by regulation further define any term defined in subsection (a), in order to carry out this title.

section104 OFFICE OF EXPORT TRADE IN DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

SEC. 104. The Secretary of Commerce shall establish within the Department of Commerce an office to promote and encourage to the greatest extent feasible the formation of export trade associations and export trading companies. Such office shall provide information and advice to interested persons and shall provide a referral service to facilitate contact between producers of exportable goods and services and firms offering export trade services.

TITLE II--BANK EXPORT SERVICES

Short Title

SEC. 201. This title may be cited as the "Bank Export Services Act".

SEC. 202. The Congress hereby declares that it is the purpose of this title to provide for meaningful and effective participation by bank holding companies, bankers' banks, and Edge Act corporations, in the financing and development of export trading companies in the United States. In furtherance of such purpose, the Congress intends that, in implementing its authority under section 4(c)14 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System should pursue regulatory policies that--

(1) provide for the establishment of export trading companies with powers sufficiently broad to enable them to compete with similar foreign-owned institutions in the United States and abroad;

(2) afford to United States commerce, industry, and agriculture, especially small-and medium-size firms, a means of exporting at all times;

(3) foster the participation by regional and smaller banks in the development of export trading companies; and

(4)facilitate the formation of joint venture export trading companies between bank holding companies and nonbank firms that provide for the efficient combination of complementary trade and financing services designed to create export trading companies that can handle all of an exporting company's needs.

INVESTMENTS IN EXPORT TRADING COMPANIES

SEC.203. Section 4(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1843 (c)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking out "or" at the end thereof;

(2) in paragraph (13), by striking out the period at the end thereof and inserting in lieu thereof ";or" ; and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following:

"(14) shares of any company which is an export trading company whose acquisition (including each acquisition of shares) or formation by a bank holding company has not been disapproved by the Board pursuant to this paragraph, except that such investments, whether direct of indirect , in such shares shall not exceed 5 per centum of the bank holding company's consolidated capital and surplus.

"(A)(i) No bank holding company shall invest in an export trading company under this paragraph unless the Board has been given sixty days' prior written notice of such proposed investment and within such period has not issued a notice disapproving the proposed investment or extending for up to another thirty days the period during which such disapproval may be issued.

"(ii) The period for disapproval may be extended for such additional thirty-day period only if the Board determines that a bank holding company proposing to invest in an export trading company has not furnished all the information required to be submitted or that in the Board's judgment any material information submitted is substantially inaccurate.

"(iii) The notice required to be filed by a bank holding company shall contain such relevant information as the Board shall require by regulation or by specific request in connection with any particular notice.

"(iv) The Board may disapprove any proposed investment only if --

"(I) such disapproval is necessary to prevent unsafe or unsound banking practices, undue concentration of resources, decreased or unfair competition, or conflicts of interest;

"(II) the Board finds that such investment would affect the financial or managerial resources of a bank holding company to an extent which is likely to have a materially adverse effect on the safety and soundness of any subsidiary bank of such bank holding company, or

"(III) the bank holding company fails to furnish the information required under clause (iii)

"(v) Within three days after a decision to disapprove an investment, the Board shall notify the bank holding company in writing of the disapproval and shall provide a written statement of the basis for the disapproval.

"(vi) A proposed investment may be made prior to the expiration of the disapproval of period if the Board issues written notice of its intent not to disapprove the investment.

"(B)(i) The total amount of extensions of credit by a bank holding company which invests in an export trading company, when combined with all such extensions of credit by all the subsidiaries of such bank holding company, to an export trading company shall not exceed at any one time 10 per centum of the bank holding company's consolidated capital and surplus. For Purposes of the preceding sentence, an extension of credit shall not be deemed to include any amount invested by a bank holding company in the shares of an export trading company.

"(ii) No provision of any other Federal law in effect on October 1, 1982, relating specifically to collateral requirements shall apply with respect to any such extension of credit.

"(iii) No bank holding company or subsidiary of such company which invests in an export trading company may extend credit to such export trading company or to customers of such export trading company on terms more favorable than those afforded similar borrowers in similar circumstances, and such extension of credit shall not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features.

"(C) For purposes of this paragraph, an export trading company --

"(i) may engage in or hold shares of a company engaged in the business of underwriting , selling, or distributing securities in the United States only to the extent that any bank holding company which invests in such export trading company may do so under applicable Federal and State banking laws and regulations; and

"(ii) may not engage in agricultural production activities or in manufacturing, except form such incidental product modification including repackaging, reassembling or extracting byproducts, as is necessary to enable United States goods or services to conform with requirements of a foreign country and to facilitate their sale in foreign countries.

"(D) A bank holding company which invests in an export trading company may be required, by the Board, to terminate its investment or may be made subject to such limitations or conditions as may be imposed by the Board, if the Board determines that the export trading company has taken positions in commodities or commodity contracts, in securities, or in foreign exchange, other than as may be necessary in the course of the export trading company's business operations.

"(E) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an Edge Act corporation, organized under section 25(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611-631), which is a subsidiary of a bank holding company, or an agreement corporation, operating subject to section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601-604 (a)), which is a subsidiary of a bank holding company, may invest directly and indirectly in the aggregate up to 5 per centum of its consolidated capital and surplus ( 25 per centum in the case of a corporation not engaged in banking) in the voting stock or other evidences of ownership in one or more export trading companies.

"(F) For purposes of this paragraph--

"(i) the term 'export trading company' means a company which does business under the laws of the United States or any State, which is exclusively engaged in activities related to international trade, and which is organized and operated principally for purposes of exporting goods or services produced in the United States or for purposes of facilitating the exportation of goods or services produced in the United States or for purposes of facilitating the exportation of goods or services produced in the United States by unaffiliated persons by providing one or more export trade services.

"(ii) the term "export trade services' includes, but is not limited to, consulting, international market research, advertising, marketing, insurance (other than acting as principal, agent or broker in the sale of insurance on risks resident or location, or activities performed, in the United States, except for insurance covering the transportation of cargo from any point of origin in the United States to a point of final destination outside the United States), product research and design, legal assistance, transportation, including trade documentation and freight forwarding, communication and processing of foreign orders to and for exporters and foreign purchasers, warehousing, foreign exchange , financing, and taking title to goods, when provided in order to facilitate the export of goods or services produced in the United States;

"(iii) the term 'bank holding company' shall include a bank which (I) is organized solely to do business with other banks and their officers, directors, or employees; (II) is owned primarily by the banks with which it does business; and (III) does not do business with the general public. No such other bank, owning stock in a bank described in this clause that invests in an export trading company shall extend credit to an export trading company in an amount exceeding at any one time 10 per centum of such other bank's capital and surplus; and

"(iv) the term 'extension of credit' shall have the same meaning given such term in the fourth paragraph of section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act".

SEC.2054. On or before two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Reserve Board shall report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate to the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs of House of Representatives the Board's recommendations with respect to the implementation of this section, the Board's recommendations on any changes in United States law to facilitate the financing of United States exports, especially by small, medium-sized, and minority business concerns, and the Board's recommendations on the effects of ownership of United States banks by foreign banking organizations affiliated with trading companies doing business in the United States.

GUARANTEES FOR EXPORT ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND INVENTORY

SEC.206. The Export-Import Bank of the United States is authorized and directed to establish a program to provide guarantees for loans extended by financial institutions or other public or private creditors to export trading companies as defined in section 4(c)(14)(F)(i) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, or to other exporters, when such loans are secured by export accounts receivable or inventories of exportable goods, and when in the judgement of the Board of Directors--

(1) the private credit market is not providing adequate financing to enable otherwise creditworthy export trading companies or exporters to consummate export transactions; and

(2) such guarantees would facilitates expansion of exports which would not otherwise occur.

The Board of Directors shall attempt to insure that a major share of any loan guarantees ultimately serves to promote exports from small, medium-size, and minority businesses or agricultural concerns. Guarantees provided under the authority of this section shall be subject to limitations contained in annual appropriations Acts.

BANKERS' ACCEPTANCES

SEC.207. The seventh paragraph of section 13 of the Federal Reserve At (12 U.S.C. 372) is amended to read as follows:

"(7)(A) Any member bank and any Federal or State branch or agency of a foreign bank subject to reserve requirements under section 7 of the International Banking Act of 1978 (hereinafter this paragraph referred to as 'institutions'), may accept drafts or bills of exchange drawn upon it having not more than six months' sight to run, exclusive of days of grace--

"(i) which grow out of transactions involving the importation or exportation of goods;

"(ii) which grow out of transactions involving the the domestic shipment of goods, or;

"(iii) which are secured at the time of acceptance by a warehouse receipt or other such document conveying or securing title covering readily marketable staples.

"(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), no institution shall accept any , or be obligated for a participation share in such bills, in an amount equal at any time in the aggregate to more than 150 per centum of its paid up and unimpaired capital stock and surplus or, in the case of a United States branch or agency of a foreign bank, its dollar equivalent as determined by the Board under the subparargraph (H).

"(C) The Board, under such conditions as it may prescribe, may authorize, by regulation or order, any institution to accept such bills, or be obligated for a participation share in such bills, in an amount not exceeding at any time in the aggregate 200 per centum of its paid up and unimpaired capital stock and surplus or, in the case of a United States branch or agency of a foreign bank, its dollar equivalent as determined by the Board under subparagraph (H).

"(D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (B) and (C), with respect to any institution, the aggregate acceptances, including obligations for a participation share in such acceptances, growing out of domestic transactions shall not exceed 50 per centum of the aggregate of all 50 per centum of the aggregate of all acceptances authorized for such institution under this paragraph.

"(E) No institution shall accept bills, or be obligated for a participation share in such bills, whether in a foreign or domestic transition, for any one person, partnership, corporation, association or any other entity in an amount equal at any time in the aggregate to more than 10 per centum of its paid up and unimpaired capital stock and surplus, or in the case of a United State branch or agency of a foreign bank, its dollar equivalent as determined by the Board under subparagraph (H), unless the institution is secured either by attached documents or by some other actual security growing out of the same transaction as the acceptance.

"(F) With respect to an institution which issues an acceptance, the limitations contained in this paragraph shall not apply to that portion of an acceptance which is issued by such institution and which is covered by a participation agreement sold to another institution.

"(G) In order to carry out the purposes of this paragraph, the Board may define any of the terms used in this paragraph, and, with respect to institutions which do not have capital or capital stock, the Board shall define an equivalent measure to which the limitations contained in this paragraph shall apply.

"(H) Any limitation or restriction in this paragraph based on paid-up and unimpaired capital stock and surplus of an institution shall be deemed to refer, with respect to a United States branch or agency of a foriegn bank, to the dollar, equivalent of the paid-up capital stock and surplus of the foriegn bank, as determined by the Board, and if the foriegn bank has more than one United States branch or agency, the business transacted by all such branches and agencies shall be aggregated in determining compliance with the limitation or restriction."

TITLE III--EXPORT TRADE CERTIFICATE OF REVIEW

EXPORT TRADE PROMOTION DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

SEC. 301. To promote and encourage export of trade, the Secretary may issue certificates of review and advise and assist any person with respect to applying for certificates of review.

APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF REVIEW

SEC. 302. (a) To apply for a certificate of review, a person shall submit to the Secretary a written application which --

(1) specifies conduct limited to export trade, and

(2) is in a form and contains any information, including information pertaining to the overall market in which the applicant operates, required by rule or regulation promulgated under section 310.

(b)(1) Within ten days after an application submitted under subsection (a) is received by the Secretary, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice that announces that an application for a certificate of review has been submitted, identifies each person submitting the application, and describes the conduct for which the application is submitted.

(2)Not later than seven days after an application submitted under subsection (a) is received by the Secretary, the Secretary shall transmit to the Attorney General--

(A) a copy of the application--

(B) any information submitted to the Secretary in connection with the application, and

(C) any other relevant information (as determined by the Secretary) in the possession of the Secretary, including information regarding the market share of the applicant in the line of commerce to which the conduct specified in the application relates.

ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE

SEC.303. (a) A certificate of review shall be issued to any applicant that establishes that its specified export trade, export trade activities, and methods of operation will--

(1) result in neither a substantial lessening of competition or restraint of trade within the United States nor a substantial restraint of the export trade of any competitor of the applicant,

(2) not unreasonably enhance, stabilize, or depress, prices within the United States of the goods, wares, merchandise , or services of the class exported by the applicant,

(3) not constitute unfair methods of competition against competitors engaged in the export of goods, wares, merchandise or services of the class exported by the applicant, and

(4) not include any act that may reasonably be expected to result in the sale for consumption or resale within the United States of the goods, wares, merchandise, or services exported by the applicant.

(b) Within ninety days after the Secretary receives an application for a certificate of review, the Secretary shall determine whether the applicant's export trade, export trade activities , and methods of operation meet the standards of subsection (a). If the Secretary, with the consurrence of the Attorney General, determines that such standards are met, the Secretary shall issue to the applicant a certificate of review. The certificate of review shall specify --

(1) the export trade, export trade activities, and methods of operation to which the certificate applies,

(2) the persons to whom the certificate of review is issued, and

(3) any terms and conditions the Secretary or the Attorney General deems necessary to assure compliance with the standards of subsection (a)

(c) If the applicant indicates a special need for prompt disposition, the Secretary and the Attorney General may expedite action on the application, except that no certificate of review may be issued within thirty days of publication of notice in the Federal Register under section 302(b)(1).

(d) (1) If the Secretary denies in whole or in part an application for a certificate, he shall notify the applicant of his determination and the reasons for it.

(2) An applicant may, within thirty days of receipt of notification that the application has been denied in whole or in part, request the Secretary to reconsider the determination. The Secretary, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, shall notify the applicant of the determination upon reconsideration within thirty days of receipt of the request.

(e) If the Secretary denies an application for the issuance of a certificate of review and thereafter receives from the applicant a request for the return of documents submitted by the applicant in connection with the application for the certificate, the Secretary and the Attorney General shall return to the applicant, not later than thirty days after receipt of the request, the documents and all copies of the documents available to the Secretary and the Attorney General, except to the extent that the information contained in a document has been made available to the public.

(f) A certificate shall be void ab initio with respect to any export trade, export trade activities, or methods of operation for which a certificate was procured by fraud.

REPORTING REQUIREMENT; AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE; REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATE

SEC. 304. (a)(1) Any applicant who receives a certificate of review--

(A) shall promptly report to the Secretary any change relevant to the matter specified in the certificate, and

(B) may submit to the Secretary an application to amend the certificate to reflect the effect of the change on the conduct specified in the certificate.

(2) An application for an amendment to a certificate of review shall be treated as an application for the issuance of a certificate. The effective date of an amendment shall be the date on which the application for the amendment is submitted to the Secretary.

(b)(1) If the Secretary or the Attorney General has reason to believe that the export trade, export trade activities, or methods of operation of a person holding a certificate of review no longer comply with the standards of section 303(a), the Secretary shall request such information from such persons as the Secretary or the Attorney General deems necessary to resolve the matter of compliance. Failure to comply with such request shall be grounds for revocation of the certificate under paragraph (2).

(2) If the Secretary or the Attorney General determines that the export trade activities, or methods of operation of a person holding a certificate no longer comply with the standards of section 303 (a), or that such person has failed to comply with a request made under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give written notice of the determination to such person. The notice shall include a statement of the circumstances underlying, and the reasons in support of, the determination. In the 60-day period beginning 30 days after the notice is given, the Secretary shall revoke the certificate or modify it as the Secretary or the Attorney General deems necessary to cause the certificate to apply only to the export trade, export trade activities, or methods of operation which are in compliance with the standards of section 303(a).

(3) For purposes of carrying out this subsection, the Attorney General, and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the antitrust division of the Department of Justice, may conduct investigations in the same manner as the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General conduct investigations under section 3 of the Antitrust Civil Process Act, except that no civil investigative demand may be issued to a person to whom a certificate of review is issued if such a person is the target of such investigation.

JUDICIAL REVIEW; ADMISSIBILITY

SEC.305. (a) If the Secretary grants or denies, in whole or in part, an application for a certificate of review or for an amendment to a certificate, or revokes or modifies a certificate pursuant to section 304(b), any person aggrieved by such determination may, within 30 days of the determination, bring an action in any appropriate district court of the United States to set aside the determination on the ground that such determination is erroneous.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), no action by the Secretary or the Attorney General pursuant to this title shall be subject to judicial review.

(c) If the Secretary denies, in whole or in part, an application for a certificate of review or for an amendment to a certificate, or revokes or amends a certificate, neither the negative determination nor the statement of reasons therefor shall be admissible in evidence, in any administrative or judicial proceeding, in support of any claim under the antitrust laws.

PROTECTION CONFERRED BY CERTIFICATE OF REVIEW

SEC. 306 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), no criminal or civil action may be brought under the antitrust laws against a person to whom a certificate of review is issued which is based on conduct which is specified in, and complies with the terms of, a certificate issued under section 303 which certificate was in effect when the conduct occurred.

(b)(1) Any person who has been injured as a result of conduct engaged in under a certificate of review may bring a civil action for injunctive relief, actual damages, the loss of interest on actual damages, and the cost of the suit (including a reasonable attorney's fee) for the failure to comply with the standards of section 303(a). Any action commenced under this title shall proceed as if it were an action commenced under section 4 or section 16 of the Clayton Act, except that the standards of section 303(a) of this title and the remedies provided in this paragraph shall be the exclusive standards and remedies applicable to such action.

(2) Any action brought under paragraph (1), there shall be filed within two years of the date the plaintiff has notice of the failure to comply with the standards of section 303(a) but in any event within four years after the accuse of action accrues.

(3) In any action brought under paragraph (1), there shall be a presumption that conduct which is specified in and complies with a certificate of review does comply with the standards of section 303 (a).

(4) In any action brought under paragraph (1), if the court finds that the conduct does comply with the standards of section 303(a), the court shall award to the person against whom the claim is brought the cost of suit attributable to defending against the claim (including a reasonable attorney's fee).

(5) The Attorney General may file suit pursuant to section 15 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C.25) to enjoin conduct threatening clear and irreparable harm to the national interest.

GUIDELINES

SEC. 307. (a) To promote greater certainty regarding the application of the anititrust laws to export trade, the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, may issue guidelines --

(1) describing specific types of conduct with respect to which the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, has made or would make, determinations under sections 303 and 304, and

(2) summarizing the factual and legal bases in support of the determinations.

(b) Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the issuance of guidelines under subsection (a).

ANNUAL REPORTS

SEC. 308. Every person to whom a certificate of review is issued shall submit to the Secretary an annual report, in such a form and at such time as the Secretary may require, that updates where necessary the information required by section 302(a).

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

SEC. 309. (a) Information submitted by any person in connection with the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a certificate of review shall be exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no officer or employee of the United States shall disclose commercial or financial information submitted in connection with the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a certificate of review if the information is privileged or confidential and if the disclosure of the information would cause harm to the person who submitted the information.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to information disclosed--

(A) upon a request made by the Congress or any committee of the Congress,

(B) in a judicial or administrative proceeding, subject to appropriate protective orders,

(D) in the course of making a determination with respect to the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a certificate of review, if the Secretary deems disclosure of the information to be necessary in connection with making the determination,

(E) in accordance with any requirement imposed by a statute of the United States, or

(F) in accordance with any rule or regulation promulgated under section 310 permitting the disclosure of the information to an agency of the United States or of a State on the condition that the agency will disclose the information only under the circumstances specified in subparagraphs (A) through (E).

RULES AND REGULATIONS

SEC.310. The Secretary, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

DEFINITIONS

SEC.311. As used in this title--

(1) the term "export trade" means trade or commerce in goods, wares, merchandise, or services exported, or in the course of being exported, from the United States or any territory thereof to any foreign nation,

(2) the term "service" means intangible economic output, including but not limited to--

(A) business, repair, and amusement services,

(B) management, legal, engineering, architectural, and other professional services, and

(3) the term "export trade activities" means activities or agreements in the course of export trade,

(4) the term "methods of operations" means any method by which a person conducts or proposes to conduct export trade,

(5) the term "person" means an individual who is a resident of the United States; a partnership that is created under and exists pursuant to the laws of any State or of the United States; a State or local government entity; a corporation, whether organized as a profit or nonprofit corporation, that is created under and exists pursuant to the laws of any State or of the United States; or any association or commination, by contract or other arrangement, between or among such persons,

(6) the term "antitrust laws" means the antitrust laws, as such term is defined in the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12), and section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) (to the extent that section 5 prohibits unfair methods of competition), and any State antitrust or unfair competition law,

(7) the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce or his designee, and

(8) the term "Attorney General" means the Attorney General of the United States or his designee.

EFFECTIVE DATES

SEC. 312 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this title shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Section 302 and section 303 shall take effect 90 days after the effective date of the rules and regulations first promulgated under section 310.

TITLE IV--FOREIGN TRADE ANTITRUST IMPROVEMENTS

Short Title

Sec. 401. This title may be cited as the "Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act of 1982".

AMENDMENT TO SHERMAN ACT

Sec. 402. The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 6 the following new section:

Sec.7. This Act shall not apply to conduct involving trade or commerce ( other than import trade or import commerce) with foreign nations unless--

"(1) such conduct has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect--

"(A) on trade or commerce which is not trade or commerce with foreign nations, or on import trade or import commerce with foreign nations; or

"(B) on export trade or export commerce with foreign nations, of a person engaged in such trade or commerce in the United States; and

"(2) such effects gives rise to a claim under the provisions of this Act, other than this section.

If this Act applies to such conduct only because of the operation of paragraph (1)(B), then this Act shall apply to such conduct only for injury to export business in the United States.".

AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT

Sec. 403. Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:

"(3) This subsection shall not apply to unfair methods of competition involving commerce with foreign nations (other than import commerce) unless--

"(A) such methods of competition have a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect--

"(i) on commerce which is not commerce with foreign nations, or on import commerce with foreign nations; or

"(ii) on export commerce with foreign nations, of a person engaged in such commerce in the United States; and

"(B) such effect gives rise to a claim under the provisions of this subsection, other than this paragraph.

If this subsection applies to such methods of competition only because of the operation of subparagraph (A)(ii), this subsection shall apply to such conduct only for injury to export business in the United States.".

Approved October 8, 1982

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY --S.734 (H.R. 1799, H.R.6016):

Congressional Record:

VOL.127 (1981): Apr.7,8, considered and passed Senate.

VOL.128 (1982): July 27, H.R. 1799 and H.R. 6016 considered and passed House; S.734, amended, passed in lieu.

Oct. 1, Senate and House agreed to conference report.

WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS:

VOL. 18, No. 41 (1982): Oct. 8, Presidential statement.

Last Updated: 8/25/15 5:46 PM