[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46516-46518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17639]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Export Trade Certificate of Review
ACTION: Notice of application.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Export Trading Company Affairs (``OETCA''),
International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, has
received an application for an Export Trade Certificate of Review. This
notice summarizes the conduct for which certification is sought and
requests comments relevant to whether the Certificate should be issued.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey C. Anspacher, Director, Office
of Export Trading Company Affairs, International Trade Administration,
by
[[Page 46517]]
telephone at (202) 482-5131 (this is not a toll-free number) or E-mail
at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. An Export Trade Certificate
of Review protects the holder and the members identified in the
Certificate from state and federal government antitrust actions and
from private treble damage antitrust actions for the export conduct
specified in the Certificate and carried out in compliance with its
terms and conditions. Section 302(b)(1) of the Export Trading Company
Act of 1982 and 15 CFR 325.6(a) require the Secretary to publish a
notice in the Federal Register identifying the applicant and
summarizing its proposed export conduct.
Request for Public Comments
Interested parties may submit written comments relevant to the
determination whether a Certificate should be issued. If the comments
include any privileged or confidential business information, it must be
clearly marked and a nonconfidential version of the comments
(identified as such) should be included. Any comments not marked
privileged or confidential business information will be deemed to be
nonconfidential. An original and five (5) copies, plus two (2) copies
of the nonconfidential version, should be submitted no later than 20
days after the date of this notice to: Office of Export Trading Company
Affairs, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Room 1104H, Washington, DC 20230. Information submitted by
any person is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act (5 U.S.C. 552). However, nonconfidential versions of the comments
will be made available to the applicant if necessary for determining
whether or not to issue the Certificate. Comments should refer to this
application as ``Export Trade Certificate of Review, application number
04-00002.'' A summary of the application follows.
Summary of the Application
Applicant: Export Trade Association of the Americas (``ETAA''), 561
Ragan Road, Wapato, Washington 98951.
Contact: Chris E. Svendsen, Attorney, Telephone: (509) 453-1319.
Application No.: 04-00002.
Date Deemed Submitted: July 19, 2004.
Members (in addition to applicant): E.W. Brandt & Sons, Inc.,
Wapato, Washington; and ETAA Distributing, LLC, Wapato, Washington.
ETAA seeks a Certificate to engage in the Export Trade Activities
and Methods of Operation described below in the following Export Trade
and Export Markets:
Export Trade
1. Products
Fresh tree fruits, primarily apples.
2. Technology Rights
Technology Rights, including, but not limited to, patents,
trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets owned and/or controlled by
ETAA and Members that relate to Products.
3. Export Trade Facilitation Services (as they relate to the export
of Products, and Technology Rights)
All export trade-related services, including, but not limited to,
professional services and assistance relating to: government relations;
state and federal export programs; foreign trade and business protocol;
consulting; international market research and analysis; collection of
information on trade opportunities; marketing; negotiations; joint
ventures; brokering; handling; export management; export licensing;
patent and trademark licensing; common marking and identification;
advertising and sales promotion; communication and processing of
foreign orders to and for Members; trade 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
services, including shipping and warehousing; the formation of
shippers' associations; legal assistance; foreign exchange and taking
title to goods.
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
With respect to the export sale of fresh tree fruits, the licensing
of Technology Rights, and the provision of Export Trade Facilitation
Services, ETAA and/or one or more Members may:
1. Participate in negotiations and enter into agreements with
foreign buyers (including governments and private persons) regarding:
(a) The quantities, time periods, prices, and terms and conditions,
in connection with actual or potential bona fide export opportunities;
(b) non-tariff trade barriers in the Export Markets; and
(c) the sale, license and/or use of Technology Rights relating to
the Products.
2. Advise and cooperate with the United States and foreign
governments in:
(a) Establishing procedures pertaining to the regulating of the
export of the Member's Products, for example: quantity standards,
marketing orders, and the imposition and lifting of tariffs; and
(b) fulfilling the phytosanitary, quality and/or funding
requirements pertaining to the export of the Member's products, for
example: tariffs, weighing fees and inspections imposed by foreign
governments.
3. Allocate export sales among Members in connection with actual or
potential bona fide export opportunities.
4. Agree on quantities of Products to be sold.
5. Allocate geographic areas or countries in Export Markets and/or
customers in Export Markets among Members.
6. Conduct marketing, promotion and distribution of fresh tree
fruits in Export Markets.
7. Conduct quality control studies and inspections of goods for
export at point of shipment, point of arrival, and through the retail
level in Export Markets.
8. Negotiate and enter into agreements, whether or not exclusive,
with providers of Export Trade Facilitation Services for the export of
Products.
9. Establish and operate fumigation facilities and administer
phytosanitary protocols to qualify the Products for Export Markets.
10. Operate foreign offices and companies to facilitate the sale
and distribution of fresh tree fruits in Export Markets.
11. Recover administrative expenses and costs through fees and
assessments allocated to each Member on a pro rata share basis or any
other non-discriminatory method. Any Member objecting to the method of
allocating expenses and costs will be charged based on actual expenses
incurred.
12. Products to be exported will be primarily supplied by the ETAA
and Members, with instances of Products supplied from non-Member
entities. For example: to fill export sales orders, contracts and spot
sales, as required.
[[Page 46518]]
13. ETAA and Members may exchange and discuss information on the
following:
(a) Information about sales and marketing efforts for the Export
Markets, activities and opportunities for sales of fresh tree fruits in
the Export Markets, selling strategies for the Export Markets, sales
for the Export Markets, contract and spot pricing in the Export
Markets, projected demands in Export Markets for fresh tree fruits,
customary terms of sale in the Export Markets, prices and availability
of fresh tree fruits from competitors for sale in the Export Markets,
and specifications for fresh tree fruits by customers in the Export
Markets;
(b) Information about the export price, quality, quantity, source,
and delivery dates of fresh tree fruits available from the Members to
export;
(c) Information about terms and conditions of contracts for sale in
the Export Markets to be considered and/or bid on by ETAA and Members;
(d) Information about joint bidding or selling arrangements for the
Export Markets and allocations of sales resulting from such
arrangements among the Members;
(e) Information about expenses specific to exporting to and within
the Export Markets, including without limitation, transportation,
trans- or intermodal shipments, insurance, in-land freights to port,
port storage, commissions, export sales, documentation, financing,
customs duties and taxes;
(f) Information about United States and foreign legislation and
regulations, including federal marketing order programs that may affect
sales for the Export Markets;
(g) Information about ETAA or Members' export operations, including
without limitation, sales and distribution networks established by ETAA
or Members in the Export Markets, and prior export sales by Members
(including export price information);
(h) Exchange information with and among the Members as necessary to
carry out the Export Trade Facilitation Services, Export Trade
Activities and Methods of Operation; and
(i) Information about export customer credit terms and credit
history.
Dated: July 28, 2004.
Vanessa M. Bachman,
Acting Director, Office of Export Trading Company Affairs.
[FR Doc. 04-17639 Filed 8-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P