USC Subchapter II

in effect

15 U.S.C. § 4011 Export trade promotion duties of Secretary of Commerce

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

15 U.S.C. § 4012 Application for issuance of certificate of review

(a) Written form; limitation to export trade; compliance with regulationsTo 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 4020 of this title. (b) Publication of notice of application; transmittal to Attorney General(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.

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

(a) RequirementsA 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) Time for determination; specification in certificateWithin 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 concurrence 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 person 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) Expedited actionIf 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 4012(b)(1) of this title. (d) Notification of denial; request for reconsideration(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) Return of documents upon request after denialIf 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) Fraudulent procurement of certificateA 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.

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

(a) Report of changes in matters specified; application 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 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) Request for compliance information; failure to provide; notice of noncompliance; revocation or modification; antitrust investigation; no civil investigative demand(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 4013(a) of this title, the Secretary shall request such information from such person 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, 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 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 1312 of this title, except that no civil investigative demand may be issued to a person to whom a certificate of review is issued if such person is the target of such investigation.

15 U.S.C. § 4015 Judicial review; admissibility

(a) District court review of grants or denials; erroneous determinationIf 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 appropriate district court of the United States to set aside the determination on the ground that such determination is erroneous. (b) Exclusive provision for reviewExcept as provided in subsection (a), no action by the Secretary or the Attorney General pursuant to this subchapter shall be subject to judicial review. (c) Inadmissibility in antitrust proceedingsIf 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.

15 U.S.C. § 4016 Protection conferred by certificate of review

(a) Protection from civil or criminal antitrust actionsExcept 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 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 presumed in compliance; award of costs to successful defendant; suit by Attorney General(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 suit (including a reasonable attorney’s fee) for the failure to comply with the standards of section 4013(a) of this title. Any action commenced under this subchapter 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 section 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 attributable to defending against the claim (including a reasonable attorney’s fee). (5) The Attorney General may file suit pursuant to section 25 of this title to enjoin conduct threatening clear and irreparable harm to the national interest.

15 U.S.C. § 4017 Guidelines

(a) Issuance; contentTo 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 concurrence 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 applicableSection 553 of title 5 shall not apply to the issuance of guidelines under subsection (a).

15 U.S.C. § 4018 Annual reports

Every person to whom a certificate of review is issued shall submit to the Secretary an annual report, in such form and at such time as the Secretary may require, that updates where necessary the information required by section 4012(a) of this title.

15 U.S.C. § 4019 Disclosure of information

(a) ExemptionInformation 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. (b) Protection of potentially harmful confidential information; exceptions: Congress; judicial or administrative proceedings; consent; necessity for determination; Federal law; regulations(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 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, (C) with the consent of the person who submitted the information, (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 4020 of this title 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).

15 U.S.C. § 4020 Rules and regulations

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 chapter.

15 U.S.C. § 4021 Definitions

As used in this subchapter— (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 (C) financial, insurance, transportation, informational and any other data-based services, and communication services, (3) the term “export trade activities” means activities or agreements in the course of export trade, (4) the term “methods of operation” 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 combination, 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 section 12 of this title, and section 45 of this title (to the extent that section 45 of this title 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.