Export Trading Company Act of 1982
PL 97-290 (S.734), enacted 10/08/1982

PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1233 
Public Law 97-290 
97th Congress 
An Act 
To encourage exports by facilitating tbe formation and operation of export trading 
companies, export trade associations, and the expansion of export trade services 
generally. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SHORT TITLE 
SEC. 101. This title may be cited as the "Export Trading Company 
Act of 1982". 
FINDINGS; DECLARATION OF PURPOSE 
SEC. 102. (a) The Congress finds that— 
(1) United States exports are responsible for creating ^nd 
maintaining one out of every nine manufacturing jobs in the 
United States and for generating one out of every seveta dollars 
of total United States goods produced; 
(2) the rapidly growing service-related industries are vital to 
the well-being of the United States economy inasmuch as they 
create jobs for seven out of every ten Americans, provide 65 per 
centum of the Nation's gross national product, and offer the 
greatest potential for significantly increased industrial trade 
involving finished products; 
(3) trade deficits contribute to the decline of the dollar on 
international currency markets and have an 
inflationary 
impact on the United States economy; 
(4) tens of thousands of small- and medium-sized United 
States businesses produce exportable goods or services but do 
not engage in exporting; 
(5) although the United States is the world's leading agricul-
tural exporting nation, many farm products are not marketed 
as widely and effectively abroad as they could be through export 
trading companies; 
(6) export trade services in the United States are fragmented 
into a multitude of separate functions, and companies attempt-
ing to offer export trade services lack financial leverage to 
reach a significant number of potential United States exporters; 
(7) the United States needs well-developed export trade inter-
mediaries which can achieve economies of scale and acquire 
expertise enabling them to export goods and services profitably, 
at low per unit cost to producers; 
(8) the development of export trading companies in the 
United States has been hampered by business attitudes and by 
Government regulations; 
(9) those activities of State and local governmental authorities 
which initiate, facilitate, or expand exports of goods and serv-
Oct. 8, 1982 
[S. 734] 
Export trade 
services, 
expansion. 
Export Trading 
Company Act of 
1982. 
15 u s e 4001 
note. 
15 u s e 4001. 
96 STAT. 1234 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
ices can be an important source for expansion of total United 
States exports, as well as for experimentation in the develop-
ment of innovative export programs keyed to local, State, and 
regional economic needs; 
(10) if United States trading companies are to be successful in 
promoting United States exports and in competing with foreign 
trading companies, they should be able to draw on the re-
sources, expertise, and knowledge of the United States banking 
system, both in the United States and abroad; and 
(11) the Department of Commerce is responsible for the devel-
opment and promotion of United States exports, and especially 
for facilitating the export of finished products by United States 
manufacturers. 
Ot)) It is the purpose of this Act to increase United States exports of 
products and services by encouraging more efficient provision of 
export trade services to United States producers and suppliers, in 
particular by establishing an office within the Department of Com-
merce to promote the formation of export trade associations and 
export trading companies, by permitting bank holding companies, 
30 use 181 note, bankers' banks, and Edge Act corporations and agreement corpora-
tions that are subsidiaries of bank holding companies to invest in 
export trading companies, by reducing restrictions on trade financ-
ing provided by financial institutions, and by modifying the applica-
tion of the antitrust laws to certain export trade. 
DEFINITIONS 
15 use 4002. 
SEC. 103. (a) For purposes of this title— 
(1) the term "export trade" means trade or commerce in goods 
or services produced in the United States which are exported, or 
in the course of being exported, from the United States to any 
other country; 
(2) the term "services" includes, but is not limited to, account-
ing, amusement, architectural, automatic data processing, busi-
ness, communications, construction franchising and licensing, 
consulting, engineering, financial, insurance, legal, manage-
ment, repair, tourism, training, and transportation services; 
(3) the term "export trade services" includes, but is not 
limited to, consulting, international market research, advertis-
ing, marketing, insurance, product research and design, legal 
assistance, transportation, including trade documentation and 
freight forwarding, communication and processing of foreign 
orders to and for exporters and foreign purchasers, warehous-
ing, foreign exchange, financing, and taking title to goods, when 
provided in order to facilitate the export of goods or services 
produced in the United States; 
(4) the term "export trading company" means a person, part-
nership, association, or similar organization, whether operated 
for profit or as a nonprofit organization, which does business 
under the laws of the United States or any State and which is 
organized and operated principally for purposes of— 
(A) exporting goods or services produced in the United 
States; or 
(B) facilitating the exportation of goods or services pro-
duced in the United States by unaffiliated persons by pro-
viding one or more export trade services; 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1235 
(5) the term "State" means any of the several 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; 
(6) the term "United States" means the several 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; and 
(7) the term "antitrust laws" means the antitrust laws as 
defined in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act 
(15 U.S.C. 12(a)), section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that section 5 applies to unfair 
methods of competition, and any State antitrust or unfair com-
petition law. 
(b) The Secretary of Commerce may by regulation further define 
any term defined in subsection (a), in order to carry out this title. 
OFFICE OF EXPORT TRADE IN DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 
SEC. 104. The Secretary of Commerce shall establish within the 
15 use 4003. 
Department of Commerce an office to promote and encourage to the 
greatest extent feasible the formation of export trade associations 
and export trading companies. Such office shall provide information 
and advice to interested persons and shall provide a referral service 
to facilitate contact between producers of exportable goods and 
services and firms offering export trade services. 
TITLE II—BANK EXPORT SERVICES 
s?r"vies''Act 
SHORT TITLE 
SEC. 201. This title may be cited as the "Bank Export Services 
12 use 1841 
Act". 
note. 
SEC. 202. The Congress hereby declares that it is the purpose of 12 use 1843 
this title to provide for meaningful and effective participation by ^°^^-
bank holding companies, bankers' banks, and Edge Act corporations, 30 USe 181 note. 
in the financing and development of export trading companies in 
the United States. In furtherance of such purpose, the Congress 
intends that, in implementing its authority under section 4(c)(14) of 
the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, the Board of Governors of Post, p. 1236. 
the Federal Reserve System should pursue regulatory policies 12 use 1843. 
that— 
(1) provide for the establishment of export trading companies 
with powers sufficiently broad to enable them to compete with 
similar foreign-owned institutions in the United States and 
abroad; 
(2) afford to United States commerce, industry, and agricul-
ture, especially small- and medium-size firms, a means of export-
ing at all times; 
(3) foster the participation by regional and smaller banks in 
the development of export trading companies; and 
(4) facilitate the formation of joint venture export trading 
companies between bank holding companies and nonbank firms 
that provide for the efficient combination of complementary 
96 STAT. 1236 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
trade and financing services designed to create export trading 
companies that can handle all of an exporting company's needs. 
INVESTMENTS IN EXPORT TRADING COMPANIES 
SEC, 203. Section 4(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 
(12 U.S.C. 1843(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (12XB), by striking out "or" at the end 
thereof; 
(2) in paragraph (13), by striking out the period at the end 
thereof and inserting in lieu thereof"; or"; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following: 
"(14) shares of any company which is an export trading 
company whose acquisition (including each acquisition of 
shares) or formation by a bank holding company has not been 
disapproved by the Board pursuant to this paragraph, except 
that such investments, whether direct or indirect, in such 
shares shall not exceed 5 per centum of the bank holding 
company's consolidated capital and surplus. 
"(AXi) No bank holding company shall invest in an export 
trading company under this paragraph unless the Board 
has been given sixty days' prior written notice of such 
proposed investment and within such period has not issued 
a notice disapproving the proposed investment or extending 
for up to another thirty days the period during which such 
disapproval may be issued. 
"(ii) The period for disapproval may be extended for such 
additional thirty-day period only if the Board determines 
that a bank holding company proposing to invest in an 
export trading company has not furnished all the informa-
tion required to be submitted or that in the Board's judg-
ment any material information submitted is substantially 
inaccurate. 
"(iii) The notice required to be filed by a bank holding 
company shall contain such relevant information as the 
Board shall require by regulation or by specific request in 
connection with any particular notice. 
"(iv) The Board may disapprove any proposed investment 
only if— 
"(I) such disapproval is necessary to prevent unsafe 
or unsound banking practices, undue concentration of 
resources, decreeised or unfair competition, or conflicts 
of interest; 
"(II) the Board finds that such investment would 
affect the financial or managerial resources of a bank 
holding company to an extent which is likely to have a 
materially adverse effect on the safety and soundness 
of any subsidiary bank of such bank holding company, 
or 
"(III) the bank holding company fails to furnish the 
information required under clause (iii). 
"(v) Within three days after a decision to disapprove an 
investment, the Board shall notify the bank holding com-
pany in writing of the disapproval and shall provide a 
written statement of the basis for the disapproval. 
"(vi) A proposed investment may be made prior to the 
expiration of the disapproval period if the Board issues 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1237 
written notice of its intent not to disapprove the invest-
ment. 
"(B)(i) The total amount of extensions of credit by a bank 
holding company which invests in an export trading com-
pany, when combined with all such extensions of credit by 
all the subsidiaries of such bank holding company, to an 
export trading company shall not exceed at any one time 10 
per centum of the bank holding company's consolidated 
capital and surplus. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 
an extension of credit shall not be deemed to include any 
amount invested by a bank holding company in the shares 
of an export trading company. 
"(ii) No provision of any other Federal law in effect on 
October 1, 1982, relating specifically to collateral require-
ments shall apply with respect to any such extension of 
credit. 
"(iii) No bank holding company or subsidiary of such 
company which invests in an export trading company may 
extend credit to such export trading company or to custom-
ers of such export trading company on terms more favora-
ble than those afforded similar borrowers in similar circum-
stances, and such extension of credit shall not involve more 
than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfa-
vorable features. 
"(C) For purposes of this paragraph, an export trading 
company— 
"(i) may engage in or hold shares of a company 
engaged in the business of underwriting, selling, or 
distributing securities in the United States only to the 
extent that any bank holding company which invests in 
such export trading company may do so under applica-
ble Federal and State banking laws and regulations; 
and 
"(ii) may not engage in agricultural production activ-
ities or in manufacturing, except for such incidental 
product modification including repackaging, reassem-
bling or extracting bj^jroducts, as is necessary to 
enable United States goods or services to conform with 
requirements of a foreign country and to facilitate 
their sale in foreign countries. 
"(D) A bank holding company which invests in an export 
trading company may be required, by the Board, to termi-
nate its investment or may be made subject to such limita-
tions or conditions as may be imposed by the Board, if the 
Board determines that the export trading company has 
taken positions in commodities or commodity contracts, in 
securities, or in foreign exchange, other than as may be 
necessary in the course of the export trading company's 
business operations. 
"(E) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an Edge 
Act corporation, organized under section 25(a) of the Fed-
eral Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611-631), which is a subsidiary 
of a bank holding company, or an agreement corporation, 
operating subject to section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act 
(12 U.S.C. 601-604(a)), which is a subsidiary of a bank 
holding company, may invest directly and indirectly in the 
aggregate up to 5 per centum of its consolidated capital and 
96 STAT. 1238 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
Definitions. 
Report to 
congressional 
committees. 
12 u s e 1843 
note. 
surplus (25 per centum in the case of a corporation not 
engaged in banking) in the voting stock of other evidences 
of ownership in one or more export trading companies. 
"(F) For purposes of this paragraph— 
"(i) the term 'export trading company' means a com-
pany which does business under the laws of the United 
States or any State, which is exclusively engaged in 
activities related to international trade, and which is 
organized and operated principally for purposes of 
exporting goods or services produced in the United 
States or for purposes of facilitating the exportation of 
goods or services produced in the United States by 
unaffiliated persons by providing one or more export 
trade services. 
"(ii) the term 'export trade services' includes, but is 
not limited 
to, consulting, international 
market 
research, advertising, marketing, insurance (other than 
acting as principal, agent or broker in the sale of 
insurance on risks resident or located, or activities 
performed, in the United States, except for insurance 
covering the transportation of cargo from any point of 
origin in the United States to a point of final destina-
tion outside the United.States), product research and 
design, legal assist£ince, transportation, including trade 
documentation and freight forwarding, communication 
and processing of foreign orders to and for exporters 
and 
foreign 
purchasers, 
warehousing, 
foreign 
exchange, financing, and taking title to goods, when 
provided in order to facilitate the export of goods or 
services produced in the United States; 
"(iii) the term 'bank holding company' shall include a 
bank which (I) is organized solely to do business with 
other banks and their officers, directors, or employees; 
(II) is owned primarily by the banks with which it does 
business; and (III) does not do business with the general 
public. No such other bank, owning stock in a bank 
described in this clause that invests in an export trad-
ing company, shall extend credit to an export trading 
company in an amount exceeding at any one time 10 
per centum of such other bank's capital and surplus; 
and 
"(iv) the term 'extension of credit' shall have the 
same meaning given such term in the fourth paragraph 
of section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act.". 
SEC. 205. On or before two years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Federal Reserve Board shall report to the Committee 
on Banking, Housing, an Urban Affairs of the Senate and the 
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of 
Representatives the Board's recommendations with respect to the 
implementation of this section, the Board's recommendations on any 
changes in United States law to facilitate the financing of United 
States exports, especially by small, medium-size, and minority busi-
ness concerns, and the Board's recommendations on the effects of 
ownership of United States banks by foreign banking organizations 
affiliated with trading companies doing business in the United 
States. 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1239 
GUARANTEES FOR EXPORT ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND INVENTORY 
SEC. 206. The Export-Import Bank of the United States is author- 
12 use 635a-4. 
ized and directed to establish a program to provide guarantees for 
loans extended by financial institutions or other public or private 
creditors to export trading companies as defined in section 
4(c)(14)(F)(i) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, or to other Ante, p. 1236. 
exporters, when such loans are secured by export accounts receiv-
able or inventories of exportable goods, and when in the judgment of 
the Board of Directors— 
(1) the private credit market is not providing adequate financ-
ing to enable otherwise creditworthy export trading companies 
or exporters to consummate export transactions; and 
(2) such guarantees would facilitate expansion of exports 
which would not otherwise occur. 
The Board of Directors shall attempt to insure that a major share of 
any loan guarantees ultimately serves to promote exports from 
small, medium-size, and minority businesses or agricultural con-
cerns. Guarantees provided under the authority of this section shall 
be subject to limitations contained in annual appropriations Acts. 
BANKERS' ACCEPTANCES 
SEC. 207. The seventh paragraph of section 13 of the Federal 
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 372) is amended to read as follows: 
12 USC 372 note. 
"(7)(A) Any member bank and any Federal or State branch or 
agency of a foreign bank subject to reserve requirements under 
section 7 of the International Banking Act of 1978 (hereinafter in 
this paragraph referred to as 'institutions'), may accept drafts or 
bills of exchange drawn upon it having not more than six months' 
sight to run, exclusive of days of grace— 
"(i) which grow out of transactions involving the importation 
or exportation of goods; 
"(ii) which grow out of transactions involving the domestic 
shipment of goods; or 
"(iii) which are secured at the time of acceptance by a ware-
house receipt or other such document conveying or securing 
title covering readily marketable staples. 
"(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), no institution shall 
accept such bills, or be obligated for a participation share in such 
bills, in an amount equal at any time in the aggregate to more than 
150 per centum of its paid up and unimpaired capital stock and 
surplus or, in the case of a United States branch or agency of a 
foreign bank, its dollar equivalent as determined by the Board 
under subparagraph (H). 
"(C) The Board, under such conditions as it may prescribe, may 
authorize, by regulation or order, any institution to accept such 
bills, or be obligated for a participation share in such bills, in an 
amount not exceeding at any time in the aggregate 200 per centum 
of its paid up and unimpaired capital stock and surplus or, in the 
case of a United States branch or agency of a foreign bank, its dollar 
equivalent as determined by the Board under subparagraph (H). 
"(D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (B) and (C), with respect to 
any institution, the aggregate acceptances, including obligations for 
a participation share in such acceptances, growing out of domestic 
transactions shall not exceed 50 per centum of the aggregate of all 
97-200 O—84—pt. 1 
41 : QL3 
96 STAT. 1240 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
acceptances, including obligations for a participation share in such 
acceptances, authorized for such institution under this paragraph. 
"(E) No institution shall accept bills, or be obligated for a partici-
pation share in such bills, whether in a foreign or domestic transac-
tion, for any one person, partnership, corporation, association or 
other entity in an amount equal at any time in the aggregate to 
more than 10 per centum of its paid up and unimpaired capital stock 
and surplus, or, in the case of a United States branch or agency of a 
foreign bank, its dollar equivalent as determined by the Board 
under subparagraph (H), unless the institution is secured either by 
attached documents or by some other actual security growing out of 
the same transaction as the acceptance. 
"(F) With respect to an institution which issues an acceptance, the 
limitations contained in this paragraph shall not apply to that 
portion of an acceptance which is issued by such institution and 
which is covered by a participation agreement sold to another 
institution. 
"(G) In order to carry out the purposes of this paragraph, the 
Board may define any of the terms used in this paragraph, and, with 
respect to institutions which do not have capital or capital stock, the 
Board shall define an equivalent measure to which the limitations 
contained in this paragraph shall apply. 
"(H) Any limitation or restriction in this paragraph based on paid-
up and unimpaired capital stock and surplus of an institution shall 
be deemed to refer, with respect to a United States branch or agency 
of a foreign bank, to the dollar equivalent of the paid-up capital 
stock and surplus of the foreign bank, as determined by the Board, 
and if the foreign bank has more than one United States branch or 
agency, the business transacted by all such branches and agencies 
shall be aggregated in determining compliance with the limitation 
or restriction.". 
TITLE III—EXPORT TRADE CERTIFICATES OF REVIEW 
EXPORT TRADE PROMOTION DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF COMMERCE 
15 use 4011. 
SEC. 301. To promote and encourage export trade, the Secretary 
may issue certificates of review and advise and assist any person 
with respect to applying for certificates of review. 
APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF REVIEW 
15 use 4012. 
SEC. 302. (a) To apply for a certificate of review, a person shall 
submit to the Secretary a written application which— 
(1) specifies conduct limited to export trade, and 
(2) is in a form and contains any information, including 
information pertaining to the overall market in which the 
applicant operates, required by rule or regulation promulgated 
under section 310. 
Notice; 
(b)(1) Within ten days after an application submitted under sub-
F^derar^'^ "^ 
section (a) is received by the Secretary, the Secretary shall publish 
Register. 
^^ the Federal Register a notice that announces that an application 
for a certificate of review has been submitted, identifies each person 
submitting the application, and describes the conduct for which the 
application is submitted. 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1241 
(2) Not later than seven days after an application submitted under 
subsection (a) is received by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 
transmit to the Attorney General— 
(A) a copy of the application, 
(B) any information submitted to the Secretary in connection 
with the application, and 
(C) any other relevant information (as determined by the 
Secretary) in the possession of the Secretary, including informa-
tion regarding the market share of the applicant in the line of 
commerce to which the conduct specified in the application 
relates. 
ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE 
SEC. 303. (a) A certificate of review shall be issued to any applicant 
15 USC 4013. 
that establishes that its specified export trade, export trade activi-
ties, and methods of operation will— 
(1) result in neither a substantial lessening of competition or 
restraint of trade within the United States nor a substantial 
restraint of the export trade of any competitor of the applicant, 
(2) not unreasonably enhance, stabilize, or depress prices 
within the United States of the goods, wares, merchandise, or 
services of the class exported by the applicant, 
(3) not constitute unfair methods of competition against com-
petitors engaged in the export of goods, wares, merchandise, or 
services of the class exported by the applicant, and 
(4) not include any act that may reasonably be expected to 
result in the sale for consumption or resale within the United 
States of the goods, wares, merchandise, or services exported by 
the applicant. 
(b) Within ninety days after the Secretary receives an application 
for a certificate of review, the Secretary shall determine whether 
the applicant's export trade, export trade activities, and methods of 
operation meet the standards of subsection (a). If the Secretary, with 
the concurrence of the Attorney General, determines that such 
standards are met, the Secretary shall issue to the applicant a 
certificate of review. The certificate of review shall specify— 
(1) the export trade, export trade activities, and methods of 
operation to which the certificate applies, 
(2) the person to whom the certificate of review is issued, and 
(3) any terms and conditions the Secretary or the Attorney 
General deems necessary to sissure compliance with the stand-
ards of subsection (a). 
(c) If the applicant indicates a special need for prompt disposition, 
the Secretary and the Attorney General may expedite action on the 
application, except that no certificate of review may be issued 
within thirty days of publication of notice in the Federal Register 
under section 3O20t)Xl). 
(dXD If the Secretary denies in whole or in part an application for 
a certificate, he shall notify the applicant of his determination and 
the reasons for it. 
(2) An applicant may, within thirty days of receipt of notification 
that the application has been denied in whole or in part, request the 
Secretary to reconsider the determination. The Secretary, with the 
concurrence of the Attorney General, shall notify the applicant of 
the determination upon reconsideration within thirty days of receipt 
of the request. 
96 STAT. 1242 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
(e) If the Secretary denies an application for the issuance of a 
certificate of review and thereafter receives from the applicant a 
request for the return of documents submitted by the applicant in 
connection with the application for the certificate, the Secretary and 
the Attorney General shall return to the applicant, not later than 
thirty days after receipt of the request, the documents and all copies 
of the documents available to the Secretary and the Attorney 
General, except to the extent that the information contained in a 
document has been made available to the public. 
(f) A certificate shall be void ab initio with respect to any export 
trade, export trade activities, or methods of operation for which a 
certificate was procured by fraud. 
REPORTING R E Q U I R E M E N T ; AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE; REVOCATION 
OF CERTIFICATE 
15 use 4014. 
SEC. 304. (a)(1) Any applicant who receives a certificate of 
review— 
(A) shall promptly report to the Secretary any change rele-
vant to the matters specified in the certificate, and 
(B) may submit to the Secretary an application to amend the 
certificate to reflect the effect of the change on the conduct 
specified in the certificate. 
(2) An application for an amendment to a certificate of review 
shall be treated as an application for the issuance of a certificate. 
The effective date of an amendment shall be the date on which the 
application for the amendment is submitted to the Secretary. 
(b)(1) If the Secretary or the Attorney General has reason to 
believe that the export trade, export trade activities, or methods of 
operation of a person holding a certificate of review no longer 
comply with the standards of section 303(a), the Secretary shall 
request such information from such person as the Secretary or the 
Attorney General deems necessary to resolve the matter of compli-
ance. Failure to comply with such request shall be grounds for 
revocation of the certificate under paragraph (2). 
(2) If the Secretary or the Attorney General determines that the 
export trade, export trade activities, or methods of operation of a 
person holding a certificate no longer comply with the standards of 
section 303(a), or that such person has failed to comply with a 
request made under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give written 
notice of the determination to such person. The notice shall include 
a statement of the circumstances underlying, and the reasons in 
support of, the determination. In the 60-day period beginning 30 
days after the notice is given, the Secretary shall revoke the certifi-
cate or modify it as the Secretary or the Attorney General deems 
necessary to cause the certificate to apply only to the export trade, 
export trade activities, or methods of operation which are in compli-
ance with the standards of section 303(a). 
Investigations. 
(3) For purposes of carrying out this subsection, the Attorney 
General, and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the 
antitrust division of the Department of Justice, may conduct investi-
gations in the same manner as the Attorney General and the 
Assistant Attorney General conduct investigations under section 3 
28 use 1927. 
of the Antitrust Civil Process Act, except that no civil investigative 
demand may be issued to a person to whom a certificate of review is 
issued if such person is the target of such investigation. 
Notice. 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1243 
JUDICIAL REVIEW; ADMISSIBILITY 
SEC. 305. (a) If the Secretary grants or denies, in whole or in part, 
15 USC 4015. 
an application for a certificate of review or for an amendment to a 
certificate, or revokes or modifies a certificate pursuant to section 
3040t)), any person aggrieved by such determination may, within 30 
days of the determination, bring an action in any appropriate 
district court of the United States to set aside the determination on 
the ground that such determination is erroneous. 
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), no action by the Secretary 
or the Attorney General pursuant to this title shall be subject to 
judicial review. 
(c) If the Secretary denies, in whole or in part, an application for a 
certificate of review or for an amendment to a certificate, or revokes 
or amends a certificate, neither the negative determination nor the 
statement of reasons therefor shall be admissible in evidence, in any 
administrative or judicial proceeding, in support of any claim under 
the antitrust laws. 
PROTECTION CONFERRED BY CERTIFICATE OF REVIEW 
SEC. 306. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), no criminal or 
15 USC 4016. 
civil action may be brought under the antitrust laws against a 
person to whom a certificate of review is issued which is based on 
conduct which is specified in, and complies with the terms of, a 
certificate issued under section 303 which certificate was in effect 
when the conduct occurred. 
OJXD Any person who has been injured as a result of conduct 
engaged in under a certificate of review may bring a civil action for 
injunctive relief, actual damages, the loss of interest on actual 
damages, and the cost of suit (including a reasonable attorney's fee) 
for the failure to comply with the standards of section 303(a). Any 
action commenced under this title shall proceed as if it were an 
action commenced under section 4 or section 16 of the Clayton Act, 
15 USC 15, 26. 
except that the standards of section 303(a) of this title and the 
remedies provided in this paragraph shall be the exclusive stand-
ards and remedies applicable to such action. 
(2) Any action brought under paragraph (1) shall be filed within 
two years of the date the plaintiff has notice of the failure to comply 
with the standards of section 303(a) but in any event within four 
years after the cause of action accrues. 
(3) In any action brought under paragraph (1), there shall be a 
presumption that conduct which is specified in and complies with a 
certificate of review does comply with the standards of section 
303(a). 
(4) In any action brought under paragraph (1), if the court finds 
that the conduct does comply with the standards of section 303(a), 
the court shall award to the person against whom the claim is 
brought the cost of suit attributable to defending against the claim 
(including a reasonable attorney's fee). 
(5) The Attorney General may file suit pursuant to section 15 of 
the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 25) to enjoin conduct threatening clear 
and irreparable harm to the national interest. 
96 STAT. 1244 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
GUIDEUNES 
15 use 4017. 
SEC. 307. (a) To promote greater certainty regarding the applica-
tion of the antitrust laws to export trade, the Secretary, with the 
concurrence of the Attorney General, may issue guidelines— 
(1) describing specific t3T)es of conduct with respect to which 
the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, 
has made or would make, determinations under sections 303 
and 304, and 
(2) summarizing the factual and legal bases in support of the 
determinations. 
(b) Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the 
issuance of guidelines under subsection (a). 
ANNUAL REPORTS 
15 use 4018. 
SEC. 308. Every person to whom a certificate of review is issued 
shall submit to the Secretary an annual report, in such form and at 
such time as the Secretary may require, that updates where neces-
sary the information required by section 302(a). 
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION 
15 use 4019. 
SEC. 309. (a) Information submitted by any person in connection 
with the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a certificate of 
review shall be exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no officer or employee 
of the United States shall disclose commercial or financial informa-
tion submitted in connection with the issuance, amendment, or 
revocation of a certificate of review if the information is privileged 
or confidential and if disclosure of the information would cause 
harm to the person who submitted the information. 
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to information 
disclosed— 
(A) upon a request made by the Congress or any committee of 
the Congress, 
(B) in a judicial or administrative proceeding, subject to ap-
propriate protective orders, 
(C) with the consent of the person who submitted the informa-
tion, 
(D) in the course of making a determination with respect to 
the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a certificate of 
review, if the Secretary deems disclosure of the information to 
be necessary in connection with making the determination, 
(E) in accordance with any requirement imposed by a statute 
of the United States, or 
(F) in accordance with any rule or regulation promulgated 
under section 310 permitting the disclosure of the information 
to an agency of the United States or of a State on the condition 
that the agency will disclose the information only under the 
circumstances specified in subparagraphs (A) through (E). 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1245 
RULES AND REGULATIONS 
SEC. 310. The Secretary, with the concurrence of the Attorney 15 use 4020. 
Gteneral, shaill promulgate such rules and regulations as are neces-
sary to CEirry out the purposes of this Act. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 311. As used in this title— 
15 use 4021. 
(1) the term "export trade" means trade or commerce in 
goods, wares, merchandise, or services exported, or in the course 
of being exported, from the United States or any territory 
thereof to any foreign nation, 
(2) the term "service" means intangible economic output, 
including, but not limited to— 
(A) business, repair, and amusement services, 
(B) management, legal, engineering, architectural, and 
other professional services, and 
(C) financial, insurance, transportation, informationsil 
and any other data-based services, and communication serv-
ices, 
(3) the term "export trade activities" means activities or 
agreements in the course of export trade, 
(4) the term "methods of operation" means any method by 
which a person conducts or proposes to conduct export trade, 
(5) the term "person" means an individual who is a resident of 
the United States; a partnership that is created under and 
exists pursuant to the laws of any State or of the United States; 
a State or local government entity; a corporation, whether 
oi^anized as a profit or nonprofit corporation, that is created 
under and exists pursuant to the laws of any State or of the 
United States; or any association or combination, by contract or 
other arrangement, between or among such persons, 
(6) the term "antitrust laws" means the antitrust laws, as 
such term is defined in the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
U.S.C. 12), and section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(15 U.S.C 45) (to the extent that section 5 prohibits unfair 
methods of competition), and any State antitn^st or unfair 
competition law, 
(7) the term "Secretary" nleans the Secretary of Commerce or 
his designee, and 
(8) the term "Attorney General" means the Attorney General 
of the United States or his designee. 
EFFECTIVE DATES 
SEC. 312. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this title shall 
15 use 4011 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
"
°
*
®
-
(b) Section 302 and section 303 shall take effect 90 days after the 
effective date of the rules and regulations first promulgated under 
section 310. 
96 STAT. 1246 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
Foreign Trade 
TITLE IV—FOREIGN TRADE ANTITRUST IMPROVEMENTS 
Antitrust 
Improvements 
Act of 1982. 
SHORT TITLE 
1
5 use 1 note. 
SEC. 401. This title may be cited as the "Foreign Trade Antitrust 
Improvements Act of 1982". 
AMENDMENT TO SHERMAN ACT 
SEC. 402. The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 6 the following new section: 
1
5 use 6a. 
"SEC. 7. This Act shall not apply to conduct involving trade or 
commerce (other than import t ^ e or import commerce) with for-
eign nations unless— 
"(1) such conduct has a direct, substantial, and reasonably 
foreseeable effect-
"(A) on trade or commerce which is not trade or com-
merce with foreign nations, or on import trade or import 
commerce with foreign nations; or 
"(B) on export trade or export commerce with foreign 
nations, of a person engaged in such trade or commerce in 
the United States; and 
"(2) such effect gives rise to a claim under the provisions of 
this Act, other than this section. 
If this Act appUes to such conduct only because of the operation of 
paragraph (1)(B), then this Act shall apply to such conduct only for 
injury to export business in the United States.". 
AMENOBIENT TO FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT 
SEC. 403. Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 45(a)) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
new paragraph: 
"(3) This subsection shall not apply to unfair methods of competi-
tion involving commerce with foreign nations (other than import 
commerce) unless— 
"(A) such methods of competition have a direct, substantial, 
and reasonably foreseeable effect— 
"(i) on conmierce which is not commerce with foreign 
nations, or on import commerce with foreign nations; or 
"(ii) on export conmierce with foreign nations, of a person 
engaged in such commerce in the United States; and 
PUBLIC LAW 97-290—OCT. 8, 1982 
96 STAT. 1247 
"(B) such effect gives rise to a claim under the provisions of 
this subsection, other than this paragraph. 
If this subsection applies to such methods of competition only 
because of the operation of subparagraph (A)(ii), this subsection 
shall apply to such conduct only for injury to export business in the 
United States.". 
Approved October 8, 1982. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 734 (H.R. 1799, H.R. 6016): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 97-924 (Coram, of Conference), No. 97-637, pt. 1 accompany-
ing H.R. 1799 (Comm. on Foreign Affairs), pt. 2 (Coram, on the 
Judiciary) and No. 97-629 accorapanying H.R. 6016 (Comm. on 
Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 97-27 (Comra. on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs) and 
No. 97-644 (Comra. of Conference). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 127 (1981): Apr. 7, 8, considered and passed Senate. 
Vol. 128 (1982): July 27, H.R. 1799 and H.R. 6016 considered and passed House; 
S. 734, amended, passed in lieu. 
Oct. 1, Senate and House agreed to conference report. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS: 
Vol. 18, No. 41 (1982): Oct. 8, Presidential statement.