[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61019-61020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24586]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Application No. 19-00001]


Export Trade Certificate of Review

ACTION: Notice of issuance of an Export Trade Certificate of Review to 
National Pecan Shellers Association (``NPSA''), application number 19-
00001.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Commerce, through the Office of Trade and 
Economic Analysis (``OTEA''), issued an Export Trade Certificate of 
Review to NPSA on October 29, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Flynn, Director, OTEA, 
International Trade Administration, by telephone at (202) 482-5131 
(this is not a toll-free number) or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of the Export Trading Company Act 
of 1982 (15 U.S.C. Sections 4001-21) (``the Act'') 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. The regulations implementing 
Title III are found at 15 CFR part 325. OTEA is issuing this notice 
pursuant to 15 CFR 325.6(b), which requires the Secretary 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, 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

    A summary of the conduct covered by the Export Trade Certificate of 
Review follows.

Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operation

1. Establishment of Pecan Export Trade Council and Designation of 
Independent Third Party
    a. NPSA will establish a specially-funded Pecan Export Trade 
Council (``PETC''), which will operate under the umbrella of NPSA. NPSA 
will contract with an Independent Third Party to manage and administer 
PETC. The Independent Third Party will not disclose information 
obtained from PETC or from a Member to another Member, an entity that 
is not a Member, and/or NPSA, except as described below and as limited 
by the Terms and Conditions in the Certificate of Review.
    b. PETC will provide Export Trade Facilitation Services, including 
to the Members. PETC's charter members, and those certified to engage 
in Export Trade Activities, are the Members listed in Attachment A. An 
amendment to this Certificate is required to add members to PETC. PETC 
membership will be open to entities that are not NPSA members, but 
shall be limited to: (1) Exporting U.S. shellers (i.e., entities with a 
commercial pecan shelling plant); (2) exporting U.S. pecan growers; and 
(3) exporting U.S. handlers of pecans. NPSA and PETC, once it is 
established, will not export Products, except as described below and as 
limited by the Terms and Conditions in the Certificate of Review.
2. Activities That Are Not Transaction-Specific
    NPSA, acting through PETC, and including by use of Export 
Intermediaries, may:
    a. Export Sales Prices. Discuss sales prices and other terms of 
sale prevailing in the Export Markets;
    b. Marketing and Distribution. Conduct marketing and distribution 
of Products in the Export Markets;
    c. Promotion. Conduct joint promotion of Products in the Export 
Markets;
    d. Market and Customer Allocation. Allocate geographic areas or 
countries in the Export Markets and/or customers in the Export Markets 
among Members;
    e. Refusals to Deal. Refuse to quote prices for Products, or to 
market or sell

[[Page 61020]]

Products, to or for any customers in the Export Markets, or any 
countries or geographical areas in the Export Markets;
    f. Transportation Activities. Negotiate favorable transportation 
rates (volume discounts) and consolidate shipments to or within the 
Export Markets;
    g. Exclusive and Nonexclusive Export Intermediaries. Enter into 
exclusive and nonexclusive agreements appointing one or more Export 
Intermediaries for the sale of Products with price, territorial, and/or 
customer restrictions as provided in this section.
3. Transaction-Specific Activities
    a. For a given transaction or prospective transaction, any or all 
of the Members may join to bid for the sale of, and to sell, Products 
to the Export Markets, provided that each Member shall determine, 
independently of other Members, the quantity of Products the Member 
will make available for export. No Member shall be required to export 
any minimum quantity of Products.
    b. For a given transaction or prospective transaction, and where 
individual Member commitments are required, for the purposes of 
allocating export quantities or determining price, the amount to be 
committed to the sale will be determined in the following manner:
    i. The participating Member(s) will, without prior consultation, 
provide to the Independent Third Party the quantity of Products that it 
commits to the transaction and the price that it seeks.
    ii. The Independent Third Party will independently incorporate such 
information into the joint sales or bid agreement. For the purposes of 
this provision, and to maintain the confidentiality of the data, 
``independently'' means that the Independent Third Party will not 
disclose the information obtained from a Member to another Member, to 
an entity that is not a Member and/or to PETC, except as aggregated and 
will disclose the aggregated information only to the Members involved 
in the transaction. Information from individual Members shall not be 
disclosed by the Independent Third Party to the buyer.
4. Activities Involving Entities That Are Not Members
    Individual Members may purchase Products from entities that are not 
Members to fulfill specific obligations in the Export Markets, provided 
that Members shall make such purchases only on a transaction-by-
transaction basis and when the Members are unable to supply, in a 
timely manner, the requisite Products at a price competitive under the 
circumstances. In no event shall a supplier that is not a Member be 
included in any deliberations concerning any Export Trade Activities.
5. Information Exchange
    Subject to section 1 of the Terms and Conditions in the 
Certificate, NPSA (acting through PETC) and Members may exchange and 
discuss the following information:
    a. Information about sales and marketing efforts and prevailing 
market conditions for the Export Markets, including but not limited to 
activities and opportunities for sales of Products in the Export 
Markets, selling strategies for the Export Markets, sales for the 
Export Markets, contract and spot pricing in the Export Markets, 
projected demand in the Export Markets for Products, customary terms of 
sale in the Export Markets, prices and availability of Products from 
entities that are not Members for sale in the Export Markets, and 
specifications for Products by customers in the Export Markets;
    b. Information about terms and conditions of contracts for sale in 
the Export Markets to be considered and/or bid on by NPSA acting 
through PETC;
    c. Information about joint bidding or selling arrangements for the 
Export Markets;
    d. Information about expenses specific to exporting to and within 
the Export Markets, including without limitation, expenses related to 
transportation, trans- or intermodal shipments, insurance, inland 
freight to port, port storage, commissions, export sales, 
documentation, financing, customs, duties, and taxes;
    e. Information about U.S. and foreign legislation and regulations, 
including federal marketing order programs, affecting sales for the 
Export Markets;
    f. Information about the export operations of PETC, including 
without limitation, information about sales and distribution networks 
established by NPSA acting through PETC or by Members in the Export 
Markets;
    g. Information about export customer credit terms and credit 
history;
    h. Information about completed and current export sales, provided 
that it is exchanged only when distributed by the Independent Third 
Party in aggregated and summary form to ensure confidentiality, and 
does not disclose, directly or by inference, information about 
completed and current sales by a specific Member.
6. Meetings
    PETC and its Members, and where appropriate the Independent Third 
Party, may meet to engage in the activities described in sections 2-5 
above.
    The effective date of the Certificate is October 29, 2019.

    Dated: November 6, 2019.
Joseph Flynn,
Director, Office of Trade and Economic Analysis, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2019-24586 Filed 11-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P