15 U.S.C. § 4721 — United States and Foreign Commercial

Page 2155 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 4721 group such information available to such de- partments and agencies as the interagency group may request, except that the require- ments, including penalties for violation there- of, for preserving the confidentiality of such information which are applicable to the offi- cials, employees, experts, or consultants of such departments and agencies shall apply in the same manner to each member of the inter- agency group and to any other person per- forming any function under this subsection. (b) Office of Barter (1) Establishment There is established, within the Inter- national Trade Administration of the Depart- ment of Commerce, the Office of Barter (here- after in this section referred to as the ‘‘Of- fice’’). (2) Director There shall be at the head of the Office a Di- rector, who shall be appointed by the Sec- retary of Commerce. (3) Staff The Secretary of Commerce shall transfer such staff to the Office as the Secretary deter- mines is necessary to enable the Office to carry out its functions under this section. (4) Functions It shall be the function of the Office to— (A) monitor information relating to trends in international barter; (B) organize and disseminate information relating to international barter in a manner useful to business firms, educational institu- tions, export-related Federal, State, and local government agencies, and other inter- ested persons, including publishing periodic lists of known commercial opportunities for barter transactions beneficial to United States enterprises; (C) notify Federal agencies with oper- ations abroad of instances where it would be beneficial to the United States for the Fed- eral Government to barter Government- owned surplus commodities for goods and services purchased abroad by the Federal Government; and (D) provide assistance to enterprises seek- ing barter and countertrade opportunities. (Pub. L. 100–418, title II, § 2205, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1332.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries COMPOSITION OF INTERAGENCY GROUP For composition of Interagency Group on Countertrade, see section 2–101 of Ex. Ord. No. 12661, Dec. 27, 1988, 54 F.R. 779, set out as a note under section 2901 of Title 19, Customs Duties. SUBCHAPTER III—EXPORT PROMOTION § 4721. United States and Foreign Commercial Service (a) Establishment (1) In general The Secretary of Commerce shall establish, within the International Trade Administra- tion, the United States and Foreign Commer- cial Service. The Secretary shall, to the great- est extent practicable, transfer to the Com- mercial Service the functions and personnel of the United States and Foreign Commercial Services. (2) Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Direc- tor General; other personnel The head of the Commercial Service shall be the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Di- rector General of the Commercial Service, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the Commercial Service may ap- point Commercial Service Officers and such other personnel as may be necessary to carry out the activities of the Commercial Service. (3) Coordination with foreign policy objectives The Secretary shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the activities of the Commer- cial Service are carried out in a manner con- sistent with United States foreign policy ob- jectives, and the Secretary shall consult regu- larly with the Secretary of State in order to comply with this paragraph. (4) Authority of chief of mission All activities of the Commercial Service shall be subject to section 207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927). (b) Statement of purpose The Commercial Service shall place primary emphasis on the promotion of exports of goods and services from the United States, particu- larly by small businesses and medium-sized businesses, and on the protection of United States business interests abroad by carrying out activities such as— (1) identifying United States businesses with the potential to export goods and services and providing such businesses with advice and in- formation on establishing export businesses; (2) providing United States exporters with information on economic conditions, market opportunities, the status of the intellectual property system in such country, and the legal and regulatory environment within foreign countries; (3) providing United States exporters with information and advice on the necessary adap- tation of product design and marketing strat- egy to meet the differing cultural and tech- nical requirements of foreign countries; (4) providing United States exporters with actual leads and an introduction to contacts within foreign countries; (5) assisting United States exporters in lo- cating reliable sources of business services in foreign countries; (6) assisting United States exporters in their dealings with foreign governments and enter- prises owned by foreign governments; (7) assisting the coordination of the efforts of State and local agencies and private organi- zations which seek to promote United States business interests abroad so as to maximize their effectiveness and minimize the duplica- tion of efforts; Page 2156 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 4721 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘Commercial Service Offi- cer’’. (8) utilizing district and foreign offices as one-stop shops for United States exporters by providing exporters with information on all export promotion and export finance activities of the Federal Government, assisting export- ers in identifying which Federal programs may be of greatest assistance, and assisting exporters in making contact with the Federal programs identified; and (9) providing United States exporters and ex- port finance institutions with information on all financing and insurance programs of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the United States International Development Fi- nance Corporation, the Trade and Develop- ment Program, and the Small Business Ad- ministration, including providing assistance in completing applications for such programs and working with exporters and export finance institutions to address any deficiencies in such applications that have been submitted. (c) Offices (1) In general The Commercial Service shall conduct its activities at a headquarters office, district of- fices located in major United States cities, and foreign offices located in major foreign cities. (2) Headquarters The headquarters of the Commercial Service shall provide such managerial, administrative, research, and other services as the Secretary considers necessary to carry out the purposes of the Commercial Service. (3) District offices The Secretary shall establish district offices of the Commercial Service in any United States city in a region in which the Secretary determines that there is a need for Federal Government export assistance. (4) Foreign offices (A) The Secretary may, after consultation with the Secretary of State, establish foreign offices of the Commercial Service. These of- fices shall be located in foreign cities in re- gions in which the Secretary determines there are significant business opportunities for United States exporters. (B) The Secretary may, in consultation with the Secretary of State, assign to the foreign offices Commercial Service Officers and such other personnel as the Secretary considers necessary. In employing Commercial Service Officers and such other personnel, the Sec- retary shall use the Foreign Service personnel system in accordance with the Foreign Service Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.]. The Sec- retary shall designate a Commercial Officer 1 as head of each foreign office. (C) Upon the request of the Secretary, the Secretary of State shall attach the Commer- cial Service Officers and other employees of each foreign office to the diplomatic mission of the United States in the country in which that foreign office is located, and shall obtain for them diplomatic privileges and immunities equivalent to those enjoyed by Foreign Serv- ice personnel of comparable rank and salary. (D) For purposes of official representation, the senior Commercial Service Officer in each country shall be considered to be the senior commercial representative of the United States in that country, and the United States chief of mission in that country shall accord that officer all privileges and responsibilities appropriate to the position of senior commer- cial representative of other countries. (E) The Secretary of State is authorized, upon the request of the Secretary, to provide office space, equipment, facilities, and such other administrative and clerical services as may be required for the operation of the for- eign offices. The Secretary is authorized to re- imburse or advance funds to the Secretary of State for such services. (F) The authority of the Secretary under this paragraph shall be subject to section 4802 of title 22. (d) Rank of Commercial Service Officers in for- eign missions (1) Minister-Counselor Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized to designate up to 16 United States missions abroad at which the senior Commercial Service Officer will be able to use the diplomatic title of Minister-Coun- selor. The Secretary of State shall accord the diplomatic title of Minister-Counselor to the senior Commercial Service Officer assigned to a United States mission so designated. (2) Consul General In any United States consulate in which a vacancy occurs in the position of Consul Gen- eral, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, shall consider filling that vacancy with a Commercial Service Officer if the primary functions of the consulate are of a commercial nature and if there are signifi- cant business opportunities for United States exporters in the region in which the consulate is located. (e) Information dissemination In order to carry out subsection (b)(7), to less- en the cost of distribution of information pro- duced by the Commercial Service, and to make that information more readily available, the Secretary should establish a system for distrib- uting that information in those areas where no district offices of the Commercial Service are lo- cated. Distributors of the information should be State export promotion agencies or private ex- port and trade promotion associations. The dis- tribution system should be consistent with cost recovery objectives of the Department of Com- merce. (f) Cooperation in Federal financing and insur- ance programs To assist the Commercial Service in carrying out subsection (b)(9), and consistent with the provisions of section 635i–7 of title 12, the Ex- port-Import Bank of the United States, the United States International Development Fi- nance Corporation, the Trade and Development Page 2157 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 4721a Program, and the Small Business Administra- tion shall each— (1) provide to the Commercial Service com- plete and current information on all of its pro- grams and financing practices; and (2) undertake a training program regarding such programs and practices for Commercial Service Officers who are designated by the As- sistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the Commercial Service. (g) Audits The Inspector General of the Department of Commerce shall perform periodic audits of the operations of the Commercial Service, but at least once every 3 years. The Inspector General shall report to the Congress the results of each such audit. In addition to an overview of the ac- tivities and effectiveness of Commercial Service operations, the audit shall include— (1) an evaluation of the current placement of domestic personnel and recommendations for transferring personnel among district offices; (2) an evaluation of the current placement of foreign-based personnel and recommendations for transferring such personnel in response to newly emerging business opportunities for United States exporters; and (3) an evaluation of the personnel system and its management, including the recruit- ment, assignment, promotion, and perform- ance appraisal of personnel, the use of limited appointees, and the ‘‘time-in-class’’ system. (h) Report by Secretary Not later than 1 year after August 23, 1988, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress on the feasibility and desirability, the progress to date, the present status, and the 5-year out- look, of the comprehensive integration of the functions and personnel of the foreign and do- mestic export promotion operations within the International Trade Administration of the De- partment of Commerce. (i) Omitted (j) Definitions For purposes of this section— (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- retary of Commerce; (2) the term ‘‘Commercial Service’’ means the United States and Foreign Commercial Service; (3) the term ‘‘United States exporter’’ means— (A) a United States citizen; (B) a corporation, partnership, or other as- sociation created under the laws of the United States or of any State; or (C) a foreign corporation, partnership, or other association, more than 95 percent of which is owned by persons described in sub- paragraphs (A) and (B), that exports, or seeks to export, goods or serv- ices produced in the United States; (4) the term ‘‘small business’’ means any small business concern as defined under sec- tion 632 of this title; (5) the term ‘‘State’’ means any of the sev- eral States, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States; and (6) the term ‘‘United States’’ means the sev- eral States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. (Pub. L. 100–418, title II, § 2301, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1338; Pub. L. 102–429, title II, §§ 202, 203, 205, Oct. 21, 1992, 106 Stat. 2201, 2204; Pub. L. 115–254, div. F, title VI, § 1470(d), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3516.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Foreign Service Act of 1980, referred to in subsec. (c)(4)(B), is Pub. L. 96–465, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071, which is classified principally to chapter 52 (§ 3901 et seq.) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3901 of Title 22 and Tables. CODIFICATION Section is comprised of section 2301 of Pub. L. 100–418. Subsec. (i) of section 2301 of Pub. L. 100–418 amended section 5315 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 115–254 substituted ‘‘United States International Development Finance Corporation’’ for ‘‘Overseas Private Investment Cor- poration’’. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 115–254 substituted ‘‘United States International Development Finance Corporation’’ for ‘‘Overseas Private Investment Corporation’’ in intro- ductory provisions. 1992—Subsec. (b)(8), (9). Pub. L. 102–429, §§ 202, 203(a), added pars. (8) and (9). Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 102–429, § 205, substituted ‘‘16’’ for ‘‘8’’. Subsecs. (f) to (j). Pub. L. 102–429, § 203(b), added sub- sec. (f) and redesignated former subsecs. (f) to (i) as (g) to (j), respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 115–254 effective at the end of the transition period, as defined in section 9681 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, see section 1470(w) of Pub. L. 115–254, set out as a note under sec- tion 905 of Title 2, The Congress. TERMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec. (g) of this section relating to reporting re- sults of audits to Congress, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 53 of House Document No. 103–7. § 4721a. State trade coordination (a) Omitted (b) Federal and State export promotion coordi- nation plan (1) In general The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee and in coordination with representatives of State trade promotion agencies, shall develop a comprehensive plan to integrate the re- sources and strategies of State trade pro- motion agencies into the overall Federal trade promotion program.