§ 303.14 Confidential commercial information. ( a ) *Designation of confidential commercial information.* A submitter of confidential commercial information as defined in § 303.2 will use good faith efforts to designate by appropriate markings, at the time of submission, any portion of its submission that it considers to be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4. These designations expire 10 years after the date of the submission unless the submitter requests and provides justification for a longer designation period.
( b ) *When notice to submitters is required.* ( 1 ) The Peace Corps will promptly provide written notice to the submitter of confidential commercial information whenever records containing such information are requested under the FOIA if the Peace Corps determines that it may be required to disclose the records, provided: ( i ) The requested information has been designated in good faith by the submitter as information considered protected from disclosure under Exemption 4; or
( ii ) The Peace Corps has a reason to believe that the requested information may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4, but it has not yet determined whether the information is protected from disclosure.
( 2 ) The notice will either describe the commercial information requested or include a copy of the requested records or portions of records containing the information. In cases involving a voluminous number of submitters, the Peace Corps may post or publish a notice in a place or manner reasonably likely to inform the submitters of the proposed disclosure, instead of sending individual notifications.
( c ) *Exceptions to submitter notice requirements.* The notice requirements of this section do not apply if: ( 1 ) The Peace Corps determines that the information is exempt under the FOIA, and therefore will not be disclosed;
( 2 ) The information has been lawfully published or has been officially made available to the public;
( 3 ) Disclosure of the information is required by a statute other than the FOIA or by a regulation issued in accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 12600 of June 23, 1987; or
( 4 ) The designation made by the submitter under paragraph (b) of this section appears obviously frivolous. In such case, the Peace Corps will give the submitter written notice of any final decision to disclose the information within a reasonable number of days prior to a specified disclosure date.
( d ) *Opportunity to object to disclosure.* ( 1 ) The Peace Corps will specify a reasonable time period within which the submitter may respond to the notice referenced in paragraph (b) of this section.
( 2 ) If a submitter has any objections to disclosure, it should provide the Peace Corps a detailed written statement that specifies all grounds for withholding the particular information under any exemption of the FOIA. In order to rely on Exemption 4 as basis for nondisclosure, the submitter will explain why the information constitutes a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is commercially confidential.
( 3 ) A submitter who fails to respond within the time period specified in the notice will be considered to have no objection to disclosure of the information. The Peace Corps is not required to consider any information received after the date of any disclosure decision. Any information provided by a submitter under this part may itself be subject to disclosure under the FOIA.
( e ) *Analysis of objections.* The Peace Corps will consider a submitter's objections and specific grounds for nondisclosure in deciding whether to disclose the requested information.
( f ) *Notice of intent to disclose.* Whenever the Peace Corps decides to disclose information over the objection of a submitter, the Peace Corps will provide the submitter written notice, which will include: ( 1 ) A statement of the reasons why each of the submitter's disclosure objections was not sustained;
( 2 ) A description of the information to be disclosed or copies of the records as the Peace Corps intends to release them; and
( 3 ) A specified disclosure date, which will be a reasonable time after the notice.
( g ) *Notice of FOIA lawsuit.* Whenever a requester files a lawsuit seeking to compel the disclosure of confidential commercial information, the Peace Corps will promptly notify the submitter.
( h ) *Requester notification.* The Peace Corps will notify the requester whenever it provides the submitter with notice and an opportunity to object to disclosure; whenever it notifies the submitter of its intent to disclose the requested information; and whenever a submitter files a lawsuit to prevent the disclosure of the information.
[89 FR 25526, Apr. 11, 2024]