[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]


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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, 
by

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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.

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    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