[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3694-3695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-910]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Export Trade Certificate of Review

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Issuance of an Export Trade Certificate of Review, 
Application No. 07-00004.

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SUMMARY: On January 14, 2008, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an 
Export Trade Certificate of Review to Houston Industries, USA, L.L.C. 
(``HIUSA''). This notice summarizes the conduct for which certification 
has been granted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey C. Anspacher, Director, Export 
Trading Company Affairs, International Trade Administration, by 
telephone at (202) 482-5131 (this is not a toll-free number), or by 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. The regulations implementing 
Title III are found at 15 CFR part 325 (2006).
    Export Trading Company Affairs (``ETCA'') is issuing this notice 
pursuant to 15 CFR section 325.6(b), which requires the U.S. Department 
of Commerce to publish a summary of the certification 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,

[[Page 3695]]

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, but not limited to, 
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 services; 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. With respect to the sales of Products and Services, licensing of 
Technology Rights and provisions of Export Trade Facilitation Services, 
HIUSA, subject to the terms and conditions listed below, may:
    a. Provide and/or arrange for the provisions 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 non-exclusive licensing and/or sales 
agreements with Suppliers for the export of Products, Services, and/or 
Technology Rights to Export Markets;
    d. Enter into exclusive and/or non-exclusive agreements with 
distributors and/or sales representatives in Export Markets;
    e. Allocate export sales or divide Export Markets among Suppliers 
for the 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 sales and/or licensing in Export Markets;
    h. Negotiate, enter into, and/or manage licensing agreements for 
the export of Technology Rights; and
    i. Enter into contracts for shipping.
    2. HIUSA may exchange information on a one-to-one basis with 
individual Suppliers regarding that Supplier's 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

    1. In engaging in Export Trade Activities and Methods of 
Operations, HIUSA 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. HIUSA 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 standard of Section 303(a) of the Act.

Definition

    ``Supplier'' means a person who produces, provides, or sells 
Products, Services, and/or Technology Rights.

Protection Provided by Certificate

    This Certificate protects HIUSA and its directors, officers, and 
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 HIUSA 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 HIUSA 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 of the Secretary of Commerce or 
the Attorney General concerning either (a) the viability or quality of 
the business plans of HIUSA or (b) the legality of such business plans 
of HIUSA 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 FR 1786 (January 11, 1985).
    A copy of the certificate will be kept in the International Trade 
Administration's Freedom of Information Records Inspection Facility, 
Room 4100, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

    Dated: January 14, 2008.
Jeffrey Anspacher,
Director, Export Trading Company Affairs.
 [FR Doc. E8-910 Filed 1-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P