[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63888-63889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26321]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Export Trade Certificate of Review

ACTION: Notice of application.

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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, 
(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. A 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 Act 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 copies, plus two 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, Department of Commerce, 
Room 1104H, Washington, DC 20230, or transmit by e-mail at 
[email protected]. 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 02-00003.'' A 
summary of the application follows.

Summary of the Application

    Applicant: Corn Refiners Association, Inc. (``CRA''), 1701 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Suite 950, Washington, DC 20006.
    Contact: M. Jean Anderson, Counsel, Telephone: (202) 682-7217.
    Application No.: 02-00003.
    Date Deemed Submitted: October 2, 2002.
    Members (in addition to the applicant): A.E. Staley Manufacturing 
Company, Decatur, Illinois (subsidiary of Tate & Lyle plc, London, 
United Kingdom); Archer Daniels Midland Company, Decatur, Illinois; 
Cargill, Incorporated, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Corn Products 
International, Inc., Westchester, Illinois; National Starch and 
Chemical Company, Bridgewater, New Jersey (subsidiary of ICI plc, 
London, United Kingdom); Penford Corporation, Bellevue, Washington; and 
Roquette America, Inc., Keokuk, Iowa (subsidiary of Roquette 
Fr[egrave]res, Lestrem, France). CRA seeks a Certificate to cover the 
following specific Export Trade, Export Markets, and Export Trade 
Activities and Methods of Operations.

Export Trade

Product

    High fructose corn syrup (``HFCS''), a sweetener derived from the 
corn wet milling process. HFCS takes the following forms: 42 percent 
fructose (item 1702.40 of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)); 
55 percent fructose and enriched HFCS (greater than 55 percent 
fructose) (item 1702.60 of the HTS); and crystalline fructose (item 
1702.50 of the HTS).

Export Markets

    HFCS will be exported only to Mexico.

Purpose

    The CRA will manage the system for allocating rights to ship under 
tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) permitting duty-free entry of U.S. HFCS into 
Mexico.

Organization and Membership

    The CRA, a not-for-profit Delaware corporation, is a trade 
association for the corn refining industry. Its membership includes all 
U.S. producers of HFCS. Under the CRA bylaws, any U.S. entity engaged 
in the United States in the production and distribution of products 
produced from corn by the wet milling process (e.g., corn starch, corn 
syrup, corn sugar, corn alcohol) is eligible for membership in the CRA.

TRQ Administrator

    The CRA shall contract with an independent third party who is not 
engaged in the production, distribution or sale of HFCS to administer 
the TRQ System. The third party Administrator will be subject to 
general oversight and supervision by the Board of Directors of the CRA.

TRQ System

    The Administrator shall allocate TRQ rights based on each member's 
U.S. HFCS share of total U.S. HFCS production capacity. In accordance 
with those allocations, the Administrator shall issue certificates 
(``TRQ Certificates'') to members evidencing the right to ship 
specified quantities of U.S. HFCS duty-free to Mexico. TRQ Certificates 
shall be freely transferable.

Confidential Information

    Any confidential information submitted by an applicant for 
membership, by a member, or by any other person in connection with the 
TRQ System shall be marked ``confidential'' and submitted to the 
Administrator, who shall maintain its confidentiality. The 
Administrator shall not disclose such confidential

[[Page 63889]]

information to any member other than the submitter, or to any officers, 
agents, or employees of any member other than the submitter, and shall 
not disclose such confidential information to any other person except 
to another neutral third party as necessary to make the determination 
for which the information was submitted, to allocate TRQ quantities, or 
in connection with reports to the U.S. Department of Commerce as 
required by the Export Trade Certificate of Review or the arbitration 
of a dispute.

Cooperation With the U.S. and Mexican Governments

    The CRA will provide whatever information and consultations may be 
necessary to facilitate cooperation between the U.S. Government and the 
Government of Mexico concerning the implementation and operation of the 
TRQ System. Furthermore, directly or through the U.S. Government, the 
CRA will endeavor to accommodate any information requests from the 
Government of Mexico (while protecting confidential information 
entrusted to the Administrator), and will consult with the Government 
of Mexico as appropriate.

Miscellaneous Implementing Provisions

    The CRA and/or its members may (i) meet, discuss and provide for an 
administrative structure to implement the TRQ management system, assess 
its operations and provide modifications as necessary to improve its 
workability, (ii) meet, exchange, and discuss information regarding the 
structure and method for implementing the TRQ management system, (iii) 
meet, exchange and discuss the types of information needed concerning 
bilateral agreements between the U.S. and Mexican Governments, and any 
resulting legislation or regulations, affecting the TRQ management 
system, and (iv) otherwise meet, exchange and discuss information as 
necessary to implement the activities described above and take the 
necessary action to implement the foregoing TRQ management system.

    Dated: October 10, 2002.
Jeffrey C. Anspacher,
Director, Office of Export Trading Company Affairs.
[FR Doc. 02-26321 Filed 10-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P