Export Trade Certificate of Review

Title III of the Export Trading Company Act of 1982 (15 U.S.C. 4001-21) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to issue Export Trade Certificates of Review. The regulations implementing Title III are found at 15 CFR Part 325 (l995). The Office of Export Trading Company Affairs (``OETCA'') is issuing this notice pursuant to 15 CFR 325.6(b), which requires the Department of

Commerce to publish a summary of a Certificate in the Federal Register. Under Section 305 (a) of the Act and 15 CFR 325.11(a), any person aggrieved by the Secretary's determination may, within 30 days of the date of this notice, bring an action in any appropriate district court of the United States to set aside the determination on the ground that the determination is erroneous.

Description of Certified Conduct

Export Trade

1. Products: All products. 2. Services: All services. 3. Technology rights. Technology Rights, including, but not limited to, patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets that relate to Products and Services. 4. Export trade facilitation services (as they relate to the export of products, services and technology rights). Export Trade Facilitation Services including professional services in the areas of government relations and assistance with state and federal programs; foreign trade and business protocol; consulting; market research and analysis; collection of information on trade opportunities; marketing; negotiations; joint ventures; shipping; export management; export licensing; advertising; documentation and services related to compliance with customs requirements; insurance and financing; trade show exhibitions; organizational development; management and labor strategies; transfer of technology; transportation; and facilitating the formation of shippers' associations.

Export Markets

The Export Markets include all parts of the world except the United States (the fifty 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.)

Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operation

1. To engage in Export Trade in the Export Markets, as an Export Intermediary, FMS may: a. Provide and/or arrange for the provision of Export Trade Facilitation Services; b. Engage in promotional and marketing activities and collect information on trade opportunities in the Export Markets and distribute such information to clients; c. Enter into exclusive and/or nonexclusive licensing and/or sales agreements with Suppliers for the export of Products, Services and/or Technology Rights in the Export Markets; d. Enter into exclusive and/or nonexclusive agreements with distributors and/or sales representatives in Export Markets; e. Allocate export sales or divide Export Markets among Suppliers for sale and/or licensing of Products, Services, and/or Technology Rights; f. Allocate export orders among Suppliers; g. Establish the price of Products, Services and/or Technology Rights for sale and/or licensing in the Export Markets; h. Negotiate, enter into, and/or manage licensing agreements for the export of Technology Rights; i. Enter into contracts for shipping; and j. Exchange information on a one-on-one basis with individual Suppliers regarding inventories and near-term production schedules for the purpose of determining the availability of Products for export and coordinating export with distributors.

Terms and Conditions of Certificate

l. In engaging in Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operation, FMS will not intentionally disclose, directly or indirectly, to any Supplier any information about any other Supplier's costs, production, capacity, inventories, domestic prices, domestic sales, or U.S. business plans, strategies, or methods that is not already generally available to the trade or public. 2. FMS will comply with requests made by the Secretary of Commerce on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce or the Attorney General for information or documents relevant to conduct under the Certificate. The Secretary of Commerce will request such information or documents when either the Attorney General or the Secretary of Commerce believes that the information or documents are required to determine that the Export Trade, Export Trade Activities, and Methods of Operation of a person protected by this Certificate of Review continue to comply with the standards of Section 303(a) of the Act.

Definitions

1. ``Export Intermediary'' means a person who acts as a distributor, sales representative, sales or marketing agent, or broker, or who performs similar functions, including providing or arranging for the provision of Export Trade Facilitation Services. 2. ``Supplier'' means a person who produces, provides, or sells a Product and/or Service. 3. ``Technology Rights'' means such things as, but not limited to, patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets that relate to Products and Services.

Protection Provided by the Certificate

This Certificate protects FMS and its employees acting on its behalf from private treble damage actions and government criminal and civil suits under U.S. federal and state antitrust laws for the export conduct specified in the Certificate and carried out during its effective period in compliance with its terms and conditions.

Effective Period of Certificate

This Certificate continues in effect from the effective date indicated below until it is relinquished, modified, or revoked as provided in the Act and the Regulations.

Other Conduct

Nothing in this Certificate prohibits FMS from engaging in conduct not specified in this Certificate, but such conduct is subject to the normal application of the antitrust laws.

Disclaimer

The issuance of this Certificate of Review to FMS by the Secretary of Commerce with the concurrence of the Attorney General under the provisions of the Act does not constitute, explicitly or implicitly, an endorsement or opinion by the Secretary or by the Attorney General concerning either (a) the viability or quality of the business plans of FMS or (b) the legality of such business plans of FMS under the laws of the United States (other than as provided in the Act) or under the laws of any foreign country. The application of this Certificate to conduct in export trade where the United States Government is the buyer or where the United States Government bears more than half the cost of the transaction is subject to the limitations set forth in Section V. (D.) of the ``Guidelines for the Issuance of Export Trade Certificates of Review (Second Edition)'', 50 Fed. Reg. 1786 (January 11, 1985). In accordance with the authority granted under the Act and Regulations, this Certificate of Review is hereby granted to FMS. A copy of this certificate will be kept in the International Trade Administration's Freedom of Information Records Inspection Facility Room 4102, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

Dated: September 11, 1996. W. Dawn Busby, Director, Office of Export Trading Company Affairs. [FR Doc. 96-23680 Filed 9-16-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P