1177 Avenue of Americas

New York, New York 10036

May 25, 2022

Via email to FOIAsubmissions@cftc.gov

Assistant Secretary of the Commission for FOI,

Privacy, and Sunshine Acts Compliance

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Three Lafayette Centre

1155 21st Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20581

Re: FOIA Confidential Treatment Request of Appendices A to C

Dear Assistant Secretary:

TW SEF LLC (“TW SEF”) hereby requests that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission (the “Commission”) accord confidential treatment under the Freedom of 

Information Act (the “FOIA”) to the attached appendices (“Appendices A to C”) and which 

was submitted to the Commission on this date. This request pertains to all material in 

Appendices A to C, and an additional redacted version of Appendices A to C is included 

with this submission. TW SEF requests that confidential treatment be afforded as long 

as the Commission retains Appendices A to C. In accordance with the Commission’s 

FOIA regulations, Appendices A to C bears the designation “Confidential Treatment 

Requested by TW SEF LLC”.

This request for confidential treatment under the FOIA is made pursuant to Commission 

Regulations 40.8 and 145.9(d), as Appendices A to C contains information that would 

reveal the trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information of TW SEF 

and its affiliates. As required by Commission Regulation 40.8(c)(1), TW SEF has 

submitted, together with this request, a detailed written justification in support of the 

confidentiality of Appendices A to C.

This request shall not be construed as a waiver of any protection from disclosure or 

confidential treatment under Commission Regulations or any other protection from 

disclosure or confidential treatment accorded by law, and TW SEF will rely on and invoke 

any such confidentiality protection with respect to Appendices A to C. TW SEF requests 

that the Commission advise the undersigned, its representative, in advance of any 

disclosure of Appendices A to C pursuant to the FOIA so that this request for confidential 

treatment may be further substantiated. TW SEF further requests that if any of the 

Confidential Information is to be disclosed to Congress or any other federal or state 

governmental agency or department, a request for confidential treatment be made by the 

Commission on TW SEF’s behalf, or that we be permitted to make such a request directly.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at (646) 767-

4923 or by email at Devi.Shanmugham@tradeweb.com.

Very truly yours,

Devi Shanmugham

TW SEF CCO
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY TW SEF LLC PURSUANT TO 17 CFR PART 154

APPENDIX A

Fully Integrated API Services Fee Schedule (Rate Swaps – Euro and Asia Hours 

Only) 

(Blackline and Clean Copies)

[REDACTED]
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY TW SEF LLC PURSUANT TO 17 CFR PART 154

APPENDIX B

Fully Integrated API Services Fee Schedule (Rate Swaps) 

(Blackline and Clean Copies)

[REDACTED]
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY TW SEF LLC PURSUANT TO 17 CFR PART 154

APPENDIX C

Fully Integrated API Services Fee Schedule (EMEA Swaps)

(Blackline and Clean Copies)

[REDACTED]
FOIA CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED

May 25, 2022

Assistant Secretary of the Commission for FOI,

Privacy, and Sunshine Acts Compliance

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Three Lafayette Centre

1155 21st Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20581

Re: FOIA Detailed Written Justification 

Dear Assistant Secretary:

This detailed written justification for confidential treatment of the attached appendices 

(“Appendices A to C”) under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) is made pursuant 

to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“Commission”) Regulations 40.8 and 

145.9(d), as Appendices A to C contains information that would reveal the trade secrets 

or confidential commercial or financial information of TW SEF LLC (“TW SEF”) and its 

affiliates.

The general test for determining whether commercial information is exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA pursuant to this exemption is whether release of the information 

would “cause substantial harm to the competitive positions of the person from whom the 

information was obtained.” Acumenics Research & Tech. v. Dep’t of Justice, 843 F.2d 

800, 807 (4th Cir. 1988) (quoting National Parks & Conservation Ass’n v. Morton, 498 

F.2d 765, 770 (D.C. Cir. 1974)). There is no requirement to demonstrate actual 

competitive harm, rather “[a]ctual competition and the likelihood of substantial competitive 

injury is all that need to be shown.” Gulf & Western Indus., Inc. v. United States, 615 F.2d 

527, 530 (D.C. Cir. 1979). Information is considered confidential where (i) there is actual 

competition in the relevant market, and (ii) disclosure is likely to cause substantial 

competitive injury. Id. With regard to proof of potential injury, evidence demonstrating the 

potential for economic harm is sufficient, and neither the omission nor the courts must 

conduct a sophisticated economic analysis to determine the likely effects of disclosure. 

Utah v. Bahe et al., 256 F.3d 967, 970 (10th Cir. 2001); Public Citizen Health Research 

Group v. Food & Drug Admin., 704 F.2d 1280, 1291 (D.C. Cir. 1983).

The information contained in Appendices A to C includes non-public information regarding 

pricing, business structure and financial incentives relating to certain technological means 

for accessing TW SEF. TW SEF believes that disclosure of this information would provide 

its competitors with valuable insights regarding TW SEF’s clients, access to its products, 

and how TW SEF operates and funds its business. Disclosure of such information would 

allow other swap execution facilities insight into the strengths and weaknesses of TW 

SEF which could be used to achieve a competitive advantage. Disclosure of Appendices 

A and C would thus result in precisely the type of competitive harm to TW SEF that the 

provisions of FOIA and 17 C.F.R. § 145.9(d)(ii) are designed to prevent. See National 
Parks & Conservation Ass’n v. Kleppe, 547 F.2d 673, 684 (D.C. Cir. 1976) (prohibiting 

disclosure where it would “provide competitors with valuable insights into the operational 

strengths and weaknesses” of a company). Disclosure of the Confidential Information 

would provide TW SEF’s competitors with an informational windfall at TW SEF’s expense 

that they are not entitled to under FOIA. See Worthington Compressors, Inc. v. Costle, 

662 F.2d 45, 52 (D.C. Cir. 1981) (“as a matter basic to our free enterprise system, private 

business information should be afforded appropriate protection, at least from 

competitors”). The Confidential Information thus falls squarely within the type of 

information that the provisions of FOIA and Commission Regulation 145.9(d)(ii) are 

designed to protect from disclosure.

For the foregoing reasons, TW SEF respectfully requests that the Commission maintain 

the confidential privilege afforded to this type of information and refrain from releasing 

Appendices A to C as such action could prove harmful to TW SEF.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at (646) 

767-4923 or by email at Devi.Shanmugham@tradeweb.com.

Very truly yours,

Devi Shanmugham

TW SEF CCO
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY TW SEF LLC PURSUANT TO 17 CFR PART 154

APPENDIX A 

Fully Integrated API Services Fee Schedule (Rate Swaps – Euro and Asia Hours 

Only) 

(Blackline and Clean Copies)

[REDACTED]
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY TW SEF LLC PURSUANT TO 17 CFR PART 154

APPENDIX B

Fully Integrated API Services Fee Schedule (Rate Swaps) 

(Blackline and Clean Copies)

[REDACTED]
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY TW SEF LLC PURSUANT TO 17 CFR PART 154

APPENDIX C

Fully Integrated API Services Fee Schedule (EMEA Swaps)

(Blackline and Clean Copies)

[REDACTED]