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AGREEMENT 

BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS 

ON MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE 

IN THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION IN FUTURES MA TIERS 

The Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of 

the Netherlands; 

CONSIDERING that the development of the internationalization of trading in futures and 

options requires increasing exchange of information between the supervisory authorities; 

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 

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ARTICLE 1- DEFINTTIONS 

1. For the purpose of this Agreement: 

a. the term "Competent Authority" means: 

for the Government of the United States of America, the United States 

Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("Commission") or the 

Commission's designee and other authorities designated by the United States 

Government; 

for the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Minister of 

Finance or the Minister's designee; 

b. the term "futures contract" means any agreement, transaction involving or contract 

for the purchase or sale of a commodity, including any financial instrument or 

index, for future delivery within the jurisdiction of the Competent Authority of a 

Requested .:>tare; 

c. the term "option contract" means any agreement, transaction involving or contract 

or transaction which is of the character of, or is commonly known to the futures 

markets as an option, bid, offer, put, or call, within the jurisdiction of the Competent 

Authority of a Requested State; 

d. "futures business" means the business of: 

(i) purchasing or selling futures or option contracts for such person's own 

account; 

(ii) purchasing or selling futtues or option contracts for the account of any 

other person; 

(iii) soliciting or accepting orders from any other person for the purchase or 

sale of a futures or option contract; 

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(iv) accepting money, securities, property or anything of value from any other 

person to margin, guarantee or secure a futures or option trade or contract; 

(v) advising any other person, directly or indirectly, as to the value or the 

advisability of trading in any futures or option contract, or promulgating 

analyses or reports concerning the foregoing; 

(vi) collecting, executing or transmitting orders given by any person in 

connection with futures or option contracts; 

(vii) engaging in a business ill the nature of an investment trust, syndicate or 

other similar enterprise and soliciting, accepting or receiving in connection 

therewith anything of value for the purpose of trading in futures or option 

contracts; or 

(viii) equivalent activities conducted by persons or entities~ and 

e. the term "futures exchange" means a market, including an over-the-counter market, 

for futures or option contracts which is recognized, regulated or supervised by the 

Competent Authorities. 

2. For the purpose of this Agreement, the terms herein shall be deemed to be delmed in 

accordance with the relevant laws of the jurisdiction of the Competent Authority of the 

Requesting State. 

ARTICLE 2- SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE 

1. Each Competent Authority undertakes, in accordance with the provisions of this 

Agreement, to provide the Competent Authority of the other Contracting Party with the 
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greatest possible measure of mutual administrative assistance in obtaining and exchanging 

information relating to the administration and enforcement of the other's futures and 

options laws and regulations. 

2. The assistance available under this Agreement includes but is not limited to: 

a. obtaining and providing information and docwnents by the Competent Authority of 

the Requested State; 

b. taking statements of persons by the Competent Authority of the Requested State; and 

c. conducting compliance inspections or examinations of fUtures businesses by the 

Competent Authority of the Requested State. 

3. In particular, each Competent Authority shall give assistance to the other Competent 

Authority in obtain.ing and exchanging information that is relevant to the laws and 

regulations of the Requesting Competent Authority concerning: 

a. the granting of licenses, waivers or exemptions for the conduct of futures business; 

b. the observance of the laws and regulations applicable to futures business; 

c. the observance of the laws and regulations applicable to futures exchanges; 

d. the observance of the regulations of futures exchanges by their members; and 

e. the prevention and detection of futures and option fraud and other irregularities in 

connection with the offer, purchase or sale of any futures or option contract. 

ARTICLE 3 - GENERAL PRJNCIPLES 

1. All requests for information or assistance pursuant to this Agreement shall be made and 

executed through a Competent Authority for each Contracting Party. The Competent 

Authorities of the Contracting Parties shall communicate directly with each other for the 

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purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Agreement. Notwithstanding these 

principles: 

a. each Competent Authority may communicate from its own territory with any person 

in the territory of the other Contracting Party who voluntarily agrees to provide the 

information or docwnents requested; and 

b. requests by a Competent Authority for information that is available from any public 

source in the territory of the other Contracting Party may be communicated on an 

informal basis without compliance with the terms of this Agreement. 

2. The provisions of this Agreement will not give rise to a right, directly or indirectly, on the 

part of any person other than the Competent Authorities, to obtain, suppress or exclude 

any information or to challenge the execution of a request for assistance under this 

Agreement, without prejudice to the constitutional law of the Contracting Panies. 

3. The Competent Authority of the Requested State may refuse to comply with a request for 

assistance on the grounds that: 

a. such compliance would prejudice the security or other essential public interest of 

the Requested State; or 

b. such compliance would interfere with an ongoiilg investigation being conducted by 

the Requested State. 

ARTICLE 4- REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE 

1. Requests for assistance shall be made in writing and shall be reasoned. Requests shall be 

addressed to the contact officers, designated by the Competent Authorities. 

2. Requests shall specify: 

a. the information which is sought, the persons or entities which may be in possession 

of the information, and the place where the information may be available; 
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b. a general description of the matter which is the subject of the request and the 

purpose for which the information is sought; 

c. the reason for requesting the information; 

d. the legal provisions relating to the matter; and 

e. the desired time period for the reply and, in cases of urgency, the justification 

therefor. 

3. In the event of urgency, requests for assistance and replies may. be effected by swnmary 

procedures or by means of communication other than the exchange of written information, 

provided that all communications are conf'umed in the manner ·prescribed in this Article. 

ARTICLE 5 - EXECUTION OF REQUESTS 

1. The Competent Authority of the Requested State shall deal with the request for assistance 

within a reasonable period. 

2. Requests shall be executed in accordance with the laws anc! procedures of the Requested 

State. 

3. The Competent Authority of the Requested State shall obtain the information requested by 

the Competent Authority of the Requesting State. The information shall be obtained in 

conformance with paragraph 2 and, in so far as it is reasonably possible to do so, in the 

form and pursuant to the pfocedures desired by that Authority, including requiring 

statements of persons. 

4. The Competent authority of the Requested State shall, upon request, in so far as it is 

reasonably necessary to do so, conduct examinations of the books and records of a futures 

business or its custodian or agent. 

5. At the time a request is being executed, the Competent Authority of the Requested State 

may permit the presence of persons designated by the Competent Authority of the 

Requesting State. Those designated persons shall be allowed to formulate questions to be 

asked at the execution of the request. 

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ART:CLE 6- PERMISSffiLE USE OF INFORc\1ATION 

The Competent Authority of the Requesting State may use the information supplied only 

for the use indicated in its request: 

a. With respect to the use of information in criminal proceedings, prior approval of the 

Competent Authority of the Requested State shall be obtained. 

b. With respect to all other uses of information, the Compet'?nt Authority of the 

Requesting State must inform the Competent Authority of the Requested State 

before using the information supplied for reasons other than those indicated in its 

initial request. The Competent Authority of the Requested State may oppose 

such other use only in cases where such use would not be in the interest of the 

administration and enforcement of fnhnes laws and regulations or when the 

circumstances mentioned in paragraph 3 of Article 3 are applicable. Unless such 

opposition is made within fourteen days of the receipt of the notification of the 

intended use of the Competent Authority of the Requesting Stare, the information 

may be used in the manner specified in the notification. 

ARTICLE 7 -CONFIDENTIALITY 

1. Except as contemplated in Article 6, each Competent Authority will maintain the secrecy, 

to the extent permitted by law, of the request for assistance, the component parts of the 

request and the information gathered and provided pursuant to the request. Such secrecy 

may be waived, to the extent permitted by law, by the mutual agreement of the Competent 

Authorities of the Requesting and the Requested States. 

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2. When the Requesting Competent Authority has terminated the matter for which assistance 

has been requested under this Agreement, upon request of the Requested Competent 

Authority, it will return to the Requested Competent Authority, to the extent permitted by 

law, all documents and copies thereof and other material disclosing the contents of such 

documents not already disclosed in proceedings referred to in Article 6, or pursuant to 

paragraph 1 of this Article, other than material which is generated as part of the 

deliberative or internal analytical process of the Requesting Competent Authority. 

ARTICLE 8 - EFFECT ON OTHER AGREEMENTS 

1. Mutual cooperation in criminal matters between the Contracting Parties shall continue to 

be governed exclusively by the Treaty between the United States of America and the 

Kingdom of the Netherlands on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of June 12, 1981. 

2. Prior approval by the Competent Authority of the Requested State is required for the use 

in a criminal proceeding of information that previously has been exchanged under this 

Agreement. 

ARTICLE 9- COSTS 

1. If it appears that responding to an individual request for assistance under this Agreement 

will involve substantial costs being incurred by the Competent Authority of the Requested 

State, the Competent Authorities of both States shall establish a cost sharing arrangement 

before further effecting the request for assistance. 
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2. If, in general, the execution of this Agreement leads to costs being incurred mainly and 

substantially by one of the Competent Authorities, the Competent Authorities ~f the 

Contracting Parties concerned shall conclude a general cost sharing arrangement. 

ARTICLE 10- CONSULTATION 

1. The Competent Authorities will engage in consultations with respect to this Agreement 

with a view to improving its operation and to resolving any matters which may arise. In 

particular, the Competent Authorities will consult upon request in the event of: 

a. a refusal by one Competent Authority to comply with a request for information on 

the grounds set forth in paragraph 3 of Article 3; or 

b. a change in market or business conditions, or in the legislation governing the 

matters set fonh in paragraph 3 of Article 2~ or 

c. any other difficulty which makes it necessary or appropriate to amend or extend this 

Agreement in order to achieve its purposes. 

2. The Competent Authorities may agree on such practical measures as may be necessary to 

facilitate the implementation of this Agreement. 

ARTICLE 11- ENTRY INTO FORCE 

This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the 

date on which both the Contracting Panies have informed each other in writing that the 

procedures constitutionally required therefor in their respective countries have been 

complied with. 
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ARTICLE 12 -TERRITORIAL APPLICATION OF TilE AGREEMENT 

- With regard to the Kingdom of the Netherlands this Agreement shall apply to the territory 

of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe. 

ARTICLE 13- TERMINATION 

1. Any Contracting Party may at any time denounce this Agreement by mearu; of notification 

to the other Party. 

2. Such denunciation shall become effective six months after the receipt of the notification. 

If any Contracting Party gives such notice, this Agreement will continue to have effect 

with respect to all requests for assistance made before the effective date of such 

notification until the Competent Authority of the Requesting State concludes the matter 

for which assistance was requested. 

IN WI1NESS WHEREOF, the nndersigned, being duly authorized to that effect, have 

signed this Agreement. 

DONE at Washington thls twenty-ninth day of April, 1993, in the English language. 

FOR TilE GOVERNMENT OF THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 

FOR TilE GOVERNMENT OF TilE 

KINGDOM OF TilE NETIIERLANDS: 

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