15 U.S.C. § 4013 — Issuance of certificate

Page 2096 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 4011 portable goods and services and firms offering export trade services. The office shall establish a program to encourage and assist the operation of other export intermediaries, including exist- ing and newly formed export management com- panies. (Pub. L. 97–290, title I, § 104, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1235; Pub. L. 100–418, title II, § 2310, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1346.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 inserted requirement that the of- fice establish a program to encourage and assist oper- ation of other export intermediaries, including existing and newly formed export management companies. SUBCHAPTER II—EXPORT TRADE CERTIFICATES OF REVIEW § 4011. Export trade promotion duties of Sec- retary of Commerce To promote and encourage export trade, the Secretary may issue certificates of review and advise and assist any person with respect to ap- plying for certificates of review. (Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 301, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1240.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 312, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1245, provided that: ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this title [enacting this subchapter] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 8, 1982]. ‘‘(b) Section 302 and section 303 [enacting sections 4012 and 4013 of this title] shall take effect 90 days after the effective date of the rules and regulations first pro- mulgated under section 310 [enacting section 4020 of this title].’’ REPORT ON EXPORT TRADING COMPANIES Pub. L. 100–418, title II, § 2311, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1346, directed Secretary of Commerce to submit a re- port, not later than 18 months after Aug. 23, 1988, to Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of Senate, and to Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Com- mittee on the Judiciary of House of Representatives, on activities of Department of Commerce to promote and encourage formation of new and operation of existing and new export promotion intermediaries, including ex- port management companies, export trade associa- tions, bank export trading companies, and export trad- ing companies, with report to include a survey of ac- tivities of export management companies, export trade associations, and those bank export trading companies and export trading companies established pursuant to amendments made by title II of the Export Trading Company Act of 1982 and pursuant to title III of that Act, but not to contain any information subject to the protections from disclosure provided in that Act. FEDERAL COAL EXPORT COMMISSION Pub. L. 99–83, title XIII, § 1304, Aug. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 282, provided for establishment, membership, etc., of Federal Coal Export Commission, required Commission to convene at least four times a year for consultation on activities leading to increased cooperation among entities involved in United States coal exports, with goal of expanding the United States share of inter- national market, specified activities of Commission, in- cluding examination of potential for small- and me- dium-sized companies to enter export coal trade through exporting trading companies, directed Com- mission to report its finding and recommendations to President and Congress within two years after its first meeting, and terminated Commission upon submission of its report. § 4012. Application for issuance of certificate of review (a) Written form; limitation to export trade; com- pliance with regulations To apply for a certificate of review, a person shall submit to the Secretary a written applica- tion which— (1) specifies conduct limited to export trade, and (2) is in a form and contains any informa- tion, including information pertaining to the overall market in which the applicant oper- ates, required by rule or regulation promul- gated under section 4020 of this title. (b) Publication of notice of application; trans- mittal to Attorney General (1) Within ten days after an application sub- mitted 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 submit- ting the application, and describes the conduct for which the application is submitted. (2) Not later than seven days after an applica- tion 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 Sec- retary in connection with the application, and (C) any other relevant information (as deter- mined by the Secretary) in the possession of the Secretary, including information regard- ing the market share of the applicant in the line of commerce to which the conduct speci- fied in the application relates. (Pub. L. 97–290, title III, § 302, Oct. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 1240.) 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. § 4013. Issuance of certificate (a) Requirements A certificate of review shall be issued to any applicant that establishes that its specified ex- port 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 ap- plicant, (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, 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