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[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 107 (Thursday, June 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30474-30475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14786]

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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: 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. 4001-21) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to 
issue Export Trade Certificates of Review. A 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 Act 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 copies, plus two 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, Department of Commerce, 
Room 1800H, Washington, D.C. 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 98-00002.'' 
A summary of the application follows.
    Summary of the Application:
    Applicant: All State Packers, Inc. (``ASP''), 6011 E. Pine Street, 
Lodi, California 95240.
    Contact: James C. Christie, Independent Consultant, Telephone: 
(206) 292-6340.
    Application No.: 98-00002.
    Date Deemed Submitted: May 21, 1998.
    Members (in addition to applicant): Carter Thomas, LLC, Davis, 
California.
    ASP seeks a Certificate to cover the following specific Export 
Trade, Export Markets, and Export Trade Activities and Methods of 
Operation.

Export Trade

1. Products
    Fresh California Pears.
2. Services
    Inspection, quality control, marketing and promotional services.
3. Technology Rights
    Proprietary rights to all technology associated with Products or 
Services, including, but not limited to: patents, trademarks, service 
marks, trade names, copyrights, trade secrets, and know-how.
4. Export Trade Facilitation Services (as They Relate to the Export of 
Products, Services and Technology Rights)
    All export trade-related facilitation services, including, but not 
limited to: consulting and trade strategy; sales and marketing; export 
brokerage; foreign marketing research; foreign market development; 
overseas advertising and promotion; product research and design based 
on foreign buyer and consumer preferences; communication and processing 
of export orders; inspection and quality control; transportation; 
freight forwarding and trade documentation; insurance; billing of 
foreign buyers; collection (letters of credit and other financial 
instruments); provision of overseas sales and distribution facilities 
and overseas sales staff; legal, accounting and tax assistance; 
management information systems development and application; assistance 
and administration of government export assistance programs, such as 
the USDA Market Access and Supplier Credit programs.

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

    In connection with the promotion and sale of ASP's and Members' 
Products and Services into the Export Markets, ASP and/or one or more 
of its Members seeks to:
    1. Design and execute foreign marketing strategies for its Export 
Markets;
    2. Prepare joint bids, establish export prices for Products and 
Services and establish terms of sale in the Export Markets;
    3. Grant sales and distribution rights for the Products, whether or 
not exclusive, into designated Export Markets to foreign agents or 
importers (``exclusive'' meaning that ASP and Member(s) may agree not 
to sell the Products into the designated Export Markets through any 
other foreign distributor, and that the foreign distributor may agree 
to represent only ASP and/or Member(s) in the Export Markets and none 
of its competitors);
    4. Design, develop and market generic corporate labels;
    5. Engage in joint promotional activities directly targeted at 
developing the Export Markets, such as: arranging marketing trips; 
providing brochures, promotions and other forms of product, service and 
industry information; conducting international market and product 
research; procuring international marketing, advertising and 
promotional services; and sharing the cost of these joint promotional 
activities among ASP and the Member(s);
    6. Conduct product and packaging research and development 
exclusively for the export of the Products, such as meeting foreign 
regulatory requirements and foreign buyer specifications and 
identifying and designing for foreign buyer and consumer preferences;
    7. Negotiate and enter into agreements with governments and other 
foreign persons regarding non-tariff trade

[[Page 30475]]

barriers in the Export Markets, such as packaging requirements, and 
providing specialized packing operations and other quality control 
procedures to be followed by ASP and its Member(s) in the export of 
Products into the Export Markets;
    8. Advise and cooperate with agencies of the U.S. Government in 
establishing procedures regulating the export of Member(s)' Products, 
Services and/or Technology Rights into the Export Markets;
    9. Negotiate and enter into purchase agreements with buyers in the 
Export Markets regarding the export prices, quantities, type and 
quality of Products, time periods, and the terms and conditions of 
sale;
    10. Broker or take title to the Products;
    11. Purchase Products from non-Members whenever necessary to 
fulfill specific sales obligations;
    12. Solicit non-Members to become Members;
    13. Communicate and process export orders;
    14. Assist each Member in maintaining the quality standards 
necessary to be successful in the Export Markets;
    15. Provide Export Trade Facilitation Services with respect to 
Products, Services and Technology Rights;
    16. Provide, procure, negotiate, contract and administer 
transportation services for Products in the course of export, including 
overseas freight transportation, inland freight transportation from the 
packing house to the U.S. port of embarkment, leasing of transportation 
equipment and facilities, storage and warehousing, stevedoring, 
wharfage and handling, insurance, forwarder services, trade 
documentation and services, customs clearance, financial instruments 
and foreign exchange;
    17. Negotiate freight rate contracts with individual carriers and 
carrier conferences either directly or indirectly through shippers 
associations and/or freight forwarders;
    18. Arrange financing through bank holding companies, governmental 
financial assistance programs and other arrangements;
    19. Bill and collect from foreign buyers and provide accounting, 
tax, legal and consulting assistance and services;
    20. Enter into exclusive agreements with Non-Members to provide 
Export Trade Services and Trade Facilitation Services;
    21. Open and operate overseas sales and distribution offices and 
companies to facilitate the sales and distribution of the Products in 
the Export Markets;
    22. Apply for and utilize applicable export assistance and 
incentive programs which are available within the governmental and 
private sectors, such as the USDA Market Access and Supplier Credit 
programs;
    23. Negotiate and enter into agreements with governments and 
foreign persons to develop countertrade arrangements;
    24. Refuse to deal with or provide quotations to other Export 
Intermediaries for sales of ASP and Member(s)' Products into the Export 
Markets; and
    25. Exchange information with and among ASP and Member(s) as 
necessary to carry out the Export Trade Facilitation Services and 
Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operation, including:
    a. Information about sales and marketing efforts and strategies in 
the Export Markets, including pricing; projected demand in the Export 
Markets for Products; customary terms of sale, prices and availability 
of Products independently committed by Member(s) for sales in the 
Export Markets; prices and sales of Products in the Export Markets; and 
specifications by buyers and consumers in the Export Markets;
    b. Information about the price, quality, quantity, source and 
delivery dates of Products available from the Member(s) for export;
    c. Information about terms and conditions of contracts for sales in 
the Export Markets to be considered and/or bid on by ASP;
    d. Information about joint bidding, selling arrangements for the 
Export Markets and the allocations of export sales resulting from such 
arrangements among ASP and Member(s), including information regarding 
the allocation methods used and ASP and each Member's percentage of the 
total committed volume of ASP and all Member(s);
    e. Information about expenses specific to exporting to and within 
the Export Markets, including transportation, transshipments, 
intermodal shipments, insurance, inland freight to port, port storage, 
commissions, export sales, documentation, financing and customs duties 
or taxes;
    f. Information about U.S. and foreign legislation and regulations, 
including Federal marketing order programs that may affect sales to the 
Export Markets; and
    g. Information about ASP's or its Member(s)' export operations, 
including sales and distribution networks established by ASP and 
Member(s) in the Export Markets, and prior export sales by ASP and 
Member(s), including export price information.

Definitions

    1. Export Intermediary means a person who acts as 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. Member means a person who has membership in the ASP Export Trade 
Certificate and who has been certified as a ``Member'' within the 
meaning of Section 325.2(1) of the Regulations. Carter Thomas, LLC is 
currently the only member.

    Dated: May 29, 1998.
Morton Schnabel,
Director, Office of Export Trading Company Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-14786 Filed 6-3-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P
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