[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12735-12737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5668]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration, Commerce


Export Trade Certificate of Review

ACTION: Notice of Issuance of an Export Trade Certificate of Review, 
Application No. 94-00007.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce has issued an Export Trade 
Certificate of Review to Florida Citrus Exports, L.C. This notice 
summarizes the conduct for which certification has been granted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
W. Dawn Busby, 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. The regulations implementing 
Title III are found at 15 CFR Part 325 (1993).
    The Office of Export Trading Company Affairs is issuing this notice 
pursuant to 15 CFR 325.6(b), which requires the Secretary 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
    Fresh citrus.
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 [[Page 12736]] 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 related to participation in government export assistance 
programs, such as the Export Enhancement and Market Promotion 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 Members' Products, 
Services and/or Technology Rights into the Export Markets, FCE and/or 
one or more of its Members may:
1. Design and execute foreign marketing strategies for its Export 
Markets;
2. Prepare joint bids, establish export prices for Members' Products 
and Services and establish terms of sale in Export Markets in 
connection with potential or actual bona fide opportunities;
3. Allocate export sales, international buyers and/or export markets 
among Members;
4. Grant exclusive and non-exclusive sales and distribution rights for 
Products in designated Export Markets to foreign agents or importers 
(``exclusive'' meaning that FCE and Members may agree not to sell 
Products into designated Export Markets through any other foreign 
distributor, and that the foreign distributor may agree to represent 
only FCE in the Export Markets and none of FCE's competitors);
5. Design, develop and market generic corporate labels for use in 
Export Markets;
6. Engage in joint promotional activities directly targeted at 
developing Export Markets, such as: Arranging trade shows and marketing 
trips; providing advertising services; providing brochures and industry 
newsletters; providing product, service, and industry information; 
conducting international market and product research; and procuring 
international marketing, advertising, and promotional services;
7. Share the cost of joint promotional activities among the Members;
8. Conduct product and packaging research and development exclusively 
for export in order to meet foreign regulatory requirements, foreign 
buyer specifications, and foreign consumer preferences;
9. Negotiate and enter into agreements with governments and other 
foreign persons regarding non-tariff trade barriers in Export Markets;
10. Establish and operate fumigation facilities and provide specialized 
packing operations and other quality control procedures to be followed 
by Members in the export of Products into Export Markets;
11. Assist each other in maintaining the quality standards necessary to 
be successful in Export Markets;
12. Advise and cooperate with agencies of the U.S. Government in 
establishing procedures regulating the export of Members' Products, 
Services and/or Technology Rights into Export Markets;
13. Negotiate and enter into purchase agreements with buyers in Export 
Markets regarding export prices, quantities, type and quality of 
Products, time periods, and the terms and conditions of sale;
14. Broker or take title to Products intended for Export Markets;
15. Purchase Products from non-Member producers to fulfill specific 
sales obligations, provided that FCE and/or Members shall make such 
purchases only on a transaction-by-transaction basis and when the 
Members are unable to supply, in a timely manner, the requisite 
Products at a price competitive under the circumstances;
16. Solicit non-Member producers to become Members;
17. Jointly undertake the administrative tasks of processing export 
orders;
18. 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, storing and warehousing, stevedoring, 
wharfage and handling, insurance, and freight forwarder services;
19. Arrange for trade documentation and services, customs clearance, 
financial instruments, and foreign exchange;
20. Arrange financing through private financial entities;
21. Bill and collect monies from foreign buyers, and arrange for or 
provide accounting, tax, legal and consulting services in relation to 
Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operation;
22. Enter into exclusive agreements with non-Members to provide Export 
Trade Facilitation Services;
23. Design, implement, and administer Foreign Sales Corporations as 
provided by the Internal Revenue Code;
24. Open and operate overseas sales and distribution offices and 
companies to facilitate the sales and distribution of Products into and 
within Export Markets;
25. Apply for and utilize applicable export assistance and incentive 
programs available within governmental sectors;
26. Negotiate and enter into agreements with governments and foreign 
persons to develop countertrade arrangements, provided that this 
Certificate does not protect any conduct related to the sale of goods 
in the United States that are imported as part of any countertrade 
transactions;
27. Refuse to deal with or provide quotations to other Export 
Intermediaries for sales of Members' Products into Export Markets;
28. Require common marking and identification of Members' Products sold 
in Export Markets;
29. Exchange information as necessary to carry out Export Trade 
Activities and Methods of Operation, including:
    (a) Information about sales, marketing efforts, and sales 
strategies in Export Markets, including pricing; projected demand in 
Export Markets for Products; customary terms of sale; and foreign buyer 
and consumer product specifications;
    (b) Information about the price, quality, quantity, source and 
delivery dates of Products available from the Members for export;
    (c) Information about terms and conditions of contracts for sales 
in Export Markets to be considered and/or bid on by FCE and/or Members;
    (d) Information about the terms and conditions of export orders 
[[Page 12737]] necessary to process such orders;
    (e) Information about joint bidding opportunities;
    (f) Information about methods by which exports sales are to be 
allocated among Members;
    (g) Information about expenses specific to exporting to and within 
Export Markets, including transportation, transshipments, intermodal 
shipments, insurance, inland freight to port, port storage, 
commissions, export sales, documentation, financing and customs duties 
or taxes;
    (h) Information about U.S. and foreign legislation and regulations, 
including Federal marketing order programs that may affect sales to 
Export Markets; and
    (i) Information about FCE's or Members' export operations, 
including sales and distribution networks established by FCE or Members 
in Export Markets, and prior export sales by Members, including export 
price information.

Members (Within the Meaning of Sec. 325.2(1) of the Regulations)

    Florida Fresh Citrus Sales, Inc., Wabasso, Florida; Golden River 
Fruit Co., Vero Beach, Florida; Leroy E. Smith's Sons, Inc., Vero 
Beach, Florida; Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., Vero Beach, Florida; 
Seald-Sweet Growers, Inc., Vero Beach, Florida.

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 FCE and who has been 
certified as a ``Member'' within the meaning of Sec. 325.2(1) of the 
Regulations, set out in Attachment A and incorporated by reference.

Terms and Conditions of Certificate

    1. Except as provided in paragraphs 29(b) and 29(g) of the Export 
Trade Activities and Methods of Operation, neither FCE nor any Member 
shall intentionally disclose, directly or indirectly, to any other 
Member any information about its or any other Member's costs, 
production, capacity, inventories, domestic prices, domestic sales, 
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; or (2) the information 
disclosed is a necessary term or condition (e.g., price, time required 
to fill an order, etc.) of an actual or potential bona fide sale and 
the disclosure is limited to the prospective purchasing Member.
    2. Each Member shall determine independently of other members the 
quantity of Products the Member will make available for export or sell 
through FCE. FCE may not solicit from any member specific quantities 
for export or require any member to export any minimum quantity of 
products.
    3. 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 
FCE and/or the Members may discuss standardization of Products and 
Services for purposes of making bona fide recommendations to foreign 
governmental or private standard-setting organizations.
    4. Meetings at which FCE allocates export sales among Members and 
establishes export prices shall not be open to the public.
    5. 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, Services or Technology Rights in specific export 
transactions. A Member may withdraw from coverage under this 
Certificate at any time by giving written notice to FCE, a copy of 
which FCE shall promptly transmit to the Secretary of Commerce and the 
Attorney General.
    6. FCE and the 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 FCE and its directors, officers, and 
employees acting on its behalf, as well as its Members, and their 
directors, officers, and employees acting on their behalf, from private 
treble damage actions and governmental criminal and civil suits under 
U.S. federal and state antitrust laws for the export conduct specified 
in the Certificate and carried out during its effective period in 
compliance with its terms and conditions.

Effective Period of Certificate

    The Certificate continues in effect from the effective date 
indicated below until it is relinquished, modified or revoked as 
provided in the Act and the Regulations.

Other Conduct

    Nothing in the Certificate prohibits FCE and its Members from 
engaging in conduct not specified in this Certificate, but such conduct 
is subject to the normal application of the antitrust laws.

Disclaimer

    The issuance of the Certificate of Review to FCE by the Secretary 
of Commerce with the concurrence of the Attorney General under the 
provisions of the Act does not constitute, explicitly or implicitly, an 
endorsement or opinion by the Secretary of Commerce or the Attorney 
General concerning either (a) the viability or quality of the business 
plans of FCE or its Members or (b) the legality of such business plans 
of FCE or its Members under the laws of the United States (other than 
as provided in the Act) or under the laws of any foreign country.
    The application of the Certificate to conduct in Export Trade where 
the United States Government is the buyer or where the United States 
Government bears more than half the cost of the transaction is subject 
to the limitations set forth in Section V.(D.) of the ``Guidelines for 
the Issuance of Export Trade Certificates of Review (Second Edition),'' 
50 FR 1786 (January 11, 1985) (``Guidelines'').

    Dated: February 23, 1995.
W. Dawn Busby,
Director, Office of Export Trading Company Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-5668 Filed 3-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P