760 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 4 / Thursday, January 6, 2000 / Notices

[FR Doc. 00–294 Filed 1–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

Export Trade Certificate of Review

ACTION: Notice of issuance of an Export

Trade Certificate of Review, Application

No. 99–00005.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce

has issued an Export Trade Certificate of

Review to California Almond Export

Association, LLC (‘‘CAEA’’). This notice

summarizes the conduct for which

certification has been granted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Morton Schnabel, Director, Office of

Export Trading Company Affairs,

International Trade Administration,

202–482–5131. This is not a toll-free

number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of

the Export Trading Company Act of

1982 (15 U.S.C. Sections 400l–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

(1999).

The Office of Export Trading

Company Affairs (‘‘OETCA’’) is issuing

this notice pursuant to 15 CFR 325.6(b),

which requires the Department of

Commerce to publish a summary of a

Certificate 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

Export Trade

1. Products

California almonds in processed and

unprocessed form.

2. Export Trade Facilitation Services (as

They Relate to the Export of Products)

All export trade-related facilitation

services, including but not limited to:

development of trade strategy; sales,

marketing, and distribution; foreign

market development; promotion; and all

aspects of foreign sales transactions,

including export brokerage, freight

forwarding, transportation, insurance,

billing, collection, trade documentation,

and foreign exchange; customs, duties,

and taxes; and inspection and quality

control.

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

Territories of the Pacific Islands).

Export Trade Activities and Methods of

Operation

1. CAEA, on its own behalf or on

behalf of all or less than all of its

Members, through CAEA or through

Export Intermediaries (to the extent

provided in section 1.g) may:

a. Sales Prices. Establish sale prices,

minimum sale prices, target sale prices

and/or minimum target sale prices, and

other terms of sale;

b. Marketing and Distribution.

Conduct marketing and distribution of

Products;

c. Promotion. Conduct promotion of

Products;

d. Quantities. Agree on quantities of

Products to be sold, provided each

Member shall be required to dedicate

only such quantity or quantities as each

such Member shall independently

determine. CAEA shall not require any

Member to export a minimum quantity;

e. Market and Customer Allocation.

Allocate geographic areas or countries

in the Export Markets and/or customers

in the Export Markets among Members;

f. Refusals to Deal. Refuse to quote

prices for Products, or to market or sell

Products, to or for any customers in the

Export Markets, or any countries or

geographical areas in the Export

Markets;

g. Exclusive and Nonexclusive Export

Intermediaries. Enter into exclusive and

nonexclusive agreements appointing

one or more Export Intermediaries (as

defined under ‘‘Definitions’’ paragraph

1) for the sale of Products with price,

quantity, territorial and/or customer

restrictions as provided in sections 1.a

through 1.f, inclusive, above; and

h. Non-Member Activities. Purchase

Products from non-Members to fulfill

specific sales obligations, provided that

CAEA and/or its Members shall make

such purchases only on a transactionby-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 nonMember be included in any

deliberations concerning any Export

Trade Activities.

2. CAEA and its Members may

exchange and discuss the following

information:

a. Information about sale and

marketing efforts for the Export Markets,

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 demands in the Export

Markets for Products, customary terms

of sale in the Export Markets, prices and

availability of Products from

competitors for sale in the Export

Markets, and specifications for Products

by customers in the Export Markets;

b. Information about the price,

quality, quantity, source, and delivery

dates of Products 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 CAEA and its 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, inland freights to

port, port storage, commissions, export

sales, documentation, financing,

customs, duties, and taxes;

f. Information about U.S. and foreign

legislation and regulations, including

federal marketing order programs,

affecting sales for the Export Markets;

g. Information about CAEA’s or its

Members’ export operations, including

without limitation, sales and

distribution networks established by

CAEA or its Members in the Export

Markets, and prior export sales by

Members (including export price

information); and

h. Information about export customer

credit terms and credit history.

3. CAEA and its Members may

prescribe the following conditions for

admission of Members to CAEA and

termination of membership in CAEA:

a. Membership shall be limited to

Handlers as defined under ‘‘Definitions’’

paragraph 2.

b. Membership shall terminate on the

occurrence of one or more of the

following events:

i. withdrawal or resignation of a

Member;

ii. Expulsion approved by a majority

of all Members for a material violation

of CAEA’s Operating Agreement, after

prior written notice to the Member

proposed to be expelled and an

opportunity of such Member to appear

and be heard before a meeting of the

Members;

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 4 / Thursday, January 6, 2000 / Notices 761

iii. Death or permanent disability of a

Member who is an individual or the

dissolution of a Member other than an

individual; and

iv. The bankruptcy of a Member as

provided in CAEA’s Operating

Agreement.

4. CAEA and its Members may meet

to engage in the activities described in

paragraphs 1 through 3 above.

Definitions

1. ‘‘Export Intermediary’’ means a

person (including a Member) who acts

as a distributor, sales representative,

sales or marketing agent, or broker, or

who performs similar functions,

including providing, or arranging for the

provision of, Export Trade Facilitation

Services.

2. ‘‘Handler’’ means a person who

handles almonds grown in California as

defined in 7 CFR Section 981.13, under

the Order Regulating Handling of

Almonds Grown in California.

3. ‘‘Member,’’ within the meaning of

section 325.2(1) of the Regulations,

means the members of CAEA as set out

in Attachment A and incorporated by

reference.

Terms and Conditions of Certificate

1. Except as provided in paragraph

2(b) and (e) of the Export Trade

Activities and Methods of Operation

above, CAEA and its Members shall not

intentionally disclose, directly or

indirectly, to any Handler (including

Members) any information about its or

any other Handler’s costs, production,

capacity, inventories, domestic prices,

domestic sales, domestic orders, terms

of domestic marketing or sale, or U.S.

business plans, strategies or methods,

unless: (1) Such information is already

generally available to the trade or

public; (2) such disclosure is a

necessary term or condition of an actual

or potential bona fide sale or purchase

of Products and the disclosure is limited

to that prospective purchaser or seller;

or (3) such disclosure is made in

connection with the administration of

the United States Department of

Agriculture marketing order for almonds

grown in California.

2. Each Member shall determine

independently of other Members the

quantity of Products the Member will

make available for export or sell through

CAEA. CAEA may not solicit from any

Member specific quantities for export or

require any Member to export any

minimum quantity of Products.

3. Meetings at which CAEA allocates

export sales among Members and

establishes export prices shall not be

open to the public.

4. Participation by a Member in any

Export Trade Activity or Method of

Operation under this Certificate shall be

entirely voluntary as to that Member,

subject to the honoring of contractual

commitments for sales of Products in

specific export transactions. A Member

may withdraw from coverage under this

Certificate at any time by giving a

written notice to CAEA, a copy of which

CAEA shall promptly transmit to the

Secretary of Commerce and the Attorney

General.

5. Any agreements, discussions, or

exchanges of information under this

Certificate relating to quantities of

Products available for Export Markets,

Product specifications or standards,

export prices, Product quality or other

terms and conditions of export sales

(other than export financing) shall be in

connection only with actual or potential

bona fide export transactions or

opportunities and shall include only

those Members participating or having a

genuine interest in participating in such

transactions or opportunities, provided

that CAEA and/or the Members may

discuss standardization of Products for

purposes of making bona fide

recommendations to foreign

governmental or private standard-setting

organizations.

6. CAEA and its Members will comply

with requests made by the Secretary of

Commerce, on behalf of the Secretary 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

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

standards of section 303(a) of the Act.

Protection Provided by Certificate

The Certificate protects CAEA, its

Members, and their directors, officers,

and employees acting on their 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

this Certificate and carried out during

its effective period in compliance with

its terms and conditions.

A copy of this Certificate will be kept

in the International Trade

Administration’s Freedom of

Information Records Inspection Facility

Room 4102, U.S. Department of

Commerce, l4th Street and Constitution

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

Dated: December 27, 1999.

Morton Schnabel,

Director, Office of Export Trading, Company

Affairs.

Attachment A

Members (Within the meaning of Section

325.2(1) of the Regulations)

A & P Growers Cooperative, Inc., Tulare, CA

Almonds California Pride, Inc., Caruthers,

CA

Baldwin-Minkler Farms, Orland, CA

Blue Diamond Growers, Sacramento, CA

Calcot, Ltd., Bakersfield, CA

California Independent Almond Growers,

Ballico, CA

Campos Brothers, Caruthers, CA

Chico Nut Company, Chico, CA

Del Rio Nut Company, Livingston, CA

Dole Nut Company, Bakersfield, CA

Fair Trade Corner, Inc., Chico, CA

Gold Hills Nut Co., Inc., Ballico, CA

Golden West Nuts, Inc., Ripon, CA

Harris Woolf California Almonds, Huron, CA

Hilltop Ranch, Ballico, CA

Hughson Nut Company, Hughson, CA

Kindle Nut Company, Denair, CA

Paramount Farms, Inc., Los Angeles, CA

P–R Farms, Inc., Clovis, CA

Santa Fe Nut Company, Ballico, CA

South Valley Farms, Wasco, CA

Western Nut Company, Chico, CA

[FR Doc. 00–262 Filed 1–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[I.D. 101599J]

Reopening of Public Comment Period

for Draft Environmental Impact

Statement and Application for an

Incidental Take Permit for the Simpson

Timber Company, Northwest

Operations, Habitat Conservation Plan,

Thurston, Mason, and Grays Harbor

Counties, Washington

AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration,

Commerce; Fish and Wildlife Service

(FWS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of reopened public

comment period.

SUMMARY: NMFS and FWS (the Services)

are reopening the public comment

period for the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (DEIS) and

application for an Incidental Take

Permit (Permit) for the Simpson Timber

Company, Northwest Operations,

Habitat Conservation Plan, Thurston,

Mason, and Grays Harbor Counties,