15 U.S.C. § 4014 — Reporting requirement; amendment of

Page 2097 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 4014 (3) not constitute unfair methods of com- petition against competitors engaged in the export of goods, wares, merchandise, or serv- ices of the class exported by the applicant, and (4) not include any act that may reasonably be expected to result in the sale for consump- tion or resale within the United States of the goods, wares, merchandise, or services ex- ported by the applicant. (b) Time for determination; specification in cer- tificate Within ninety days after the Secretary re- ceives an application for a certificate of review, the Secretary shall determine whether the ap- plicant’s export trade, export trade activities, and methods of operation meet the standards of subsection (a). If the Secretary, with the concur- rence 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 certifi- cate applies, (2) the person to whom the certificate of re- view is issued, and (3) any terms and conditions the Secretary or the Attorney General deems necessary to assure compliance with the standards of sub- section (a). (c) Expedited action If the applicant indicates a special need for prompt disposition, the Secretary and the At- torney General may expedite action on the ap- plication, except that no certificate of review may be issued within thirty days of publication of notice in the Federal Register under section 4012(b)(1) of this title. (d) Notification of denial; request for reconsider- ation (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 rea- sons for it. (2) An applicant may, within thirty days of re- ceipt of notification that the application has been denied in whole or in part, request the Sec- retary to reconsider the determination. The Sec- retary, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, shall notify the applicant of the deter- mination upon reconsideration within thirty days of receipt of the request. (e) Return of documents upon request after de- nial If the Secretary denies an application for the issuance of a certificate of review and thereafter receives from the applicant a request for the re- turn of documents submitted by the applicant in connection with the application for the certifi- cate, the Secretary and the Attorney General shall return to the applicant, not later than thirty days after receipt of the request, the doc- uments and all copies of the documents avail- able to the Secretary and the Attorney General, except to the extent that the information con- tained in a document has been made available to the public. (f) Fraudulent procurement of certificate A certificate shall be void ab initio with re- spect to any export trade, export trade activi- ties, or methods of operation for which a certifi- cate was procured by fraud. (Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 303, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1241.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 90 days after effective date of rules and regulations first promulgated under section 4020 of this title, see section 312(b) of Pub. L. 97–290 set out as a note under section 4011 of this title. § 4014. Reporting requirement; amendment of certificate; revocation (a) Report of changes in matters specified; appli- cation to amend; treatment as application for issuance (1) Any applicant who receives a certificate of review— (A) shall promptly report to the Secretary any change relevant to the matters specified in the certificate, and (B) may submit to the Secretary an applica- tion to amend the certificate to reflect the ef- fect of the change on the conduct specified in the certificate. (2) An application for an amendment to a cer- tificate of review shall be treated as an applica- tion for the issuance of a certificate. The effec- tive date of an amendment shall be the date on which the application for the amendment is sub- mitted to the Secretary. (b) Request for compliance information; failure to provide; notice of noncompliance; revoca- tion or modification; antitrust investigation; no civil investigative demand (1) If the Secretary or the Attorney General has reason to believe that the export trade, ex- port trade activities, or methods of operation of a person holding a certificate of review no longer comply with the standards of section 4013(a) of this title, the Secretary shall request such information from such person as the Sec- retary 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, export trade activities, or methods of operation of a person holding a certificate no longer comply with the standards of section 4013(a) of this title, 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 4013(a) of this title. (3) For purposes of carrying out this sub- section, the Attorney General, and the Assistant Page 2098 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 4015 Attorney General in charge of the antitrust di- vision of the Department of Justice, may con- duct investigations in the same manner as the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General conduct investigations under section 1312 of this title, except that no civil investiga- tive demand may be issued to a person to whom a certificate of review is issued if such person is the target of such investigation. (Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 304, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1242.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 8, 1982, see section 312 of Pub. L. 97–290, set out as a note under section 4011 of this title. § 4015. Judicial review; admissibility (a) District court review of grants or denials; er- roneous determination 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 4014(b) of this title, any person aggrieved by such determination may, within 30 days of the determination, bring an action in any appro- priate district court of the United States to set aside the determination on the ground that such determination is erroneous. (b) Exclusive provision for review Except as provided in subsection (a), no action by the Secretary or the Attorney General pursu- ant to this subchapter shall be subject to judi- cial review. (c) Inadmissibility in antitrust proceedings 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 deter- mination nor the statement of reasons therefor shall be admissible in evidence, in any adminis- trative or judicial proceeding, in support of any claim under the antitrust laws. (Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 305, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1243.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 8, 1982, see section 312 of Pub. L. 97–290, set out as a note under section 4011 of this title. § 4016. Protection conferred by certificate of re- view (a) Protection from civil or criminal antitrust ac- tions Except as provided in subsection (b), no crimi- nal or civil action may be brought under the antitrust laws against a person to whom a cer- tificate of review is issued which is based on conduct which is specified in, and complies with the terms of, a certificate issued under section 4013 of this title which certificate was in effect when the conduct occurred. (b) Special restraint of trade civil actions; time limitations; certificate governed conduct pre- sumed in compliance; award of costs to suc- cessful defendant; suit by Attorney General (1) Any person who has been injured as a result of conduct engaged in under a certificate of re- view may bring a civil action for injunctive re- lief, actual damages, the loss of interest on ac- tual damages, and the cost of suit (including a reasonable attorney’s fee) for the failure to com- ply with the standards of section 4013(a) of this title. Any action commenced under this sub- chapter shall proceed as if it were an action commenced under section 15 or section 26 of this title, except that the standards of section 4013(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) shall be filed within two years of the date the plaintiff has notice of the failure to comply with the standards of section 4013(a) of this title but in any event within four years after the cause 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 sec- tion 4013(a) of this title. (4) In any action brought under paragraph (1), if the court finds that the conduct does comply with the standards of section 4013(a) of this title, the court shall award to the person against whom the claim is brought the cost of suit at- tributable to defending against the claim (in- cluding a reasonable attorney’s fee). (5) The Attorney General may file suit pursu- ant to section 25 of this title to enjoin conduct threatening clear and irreparable harm to the national interest. (Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 306, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1243.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 8, 1982, see section 312 of Pub. L. 97–290, set out as a note under section 4011 of this title. § 4017. Guidelines (a) Issuance; content To promote greater certainty regarding the application of the antitrust 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 con- currence of the Attorney General, has made or would make, determinations under sections 4013 and 4014 of this title, and (2) summarizing the factual and legal bases in support of the determinations. (b) Administrative rulemaking requirements not applicable Section 553 of title 5 shall not apply to the issuance of guidelines under subsection (a). (Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 307, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1244.)