§4712 — Title 15 Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code

Summary

The President must set up a group of officials from different departments to study countertrade and offsets. The Secretary of Commerce will lead the group. The group must review U.S. policy on countertrade and offsets, look at how these trades are used in exports and foreign aid, and consider whether the United States should try to make international agreements through the OECD or other organizations. The group must give its recommendations to the President and Congress. Other agencies must share requested information with the group, and everyone on the group must follow the same confidentiality rules as their home agency. The Secretary of Commerce must also create an Office of Barter inside the International Trade Administration and appoint a Director. The Secretary will move needed staff to the Office. The Office must watch world barter trends, gather and share useful information for businesses and government, publish lists of barter opportunities, alert U.S. agencies abroad when trading government surplus goods could help, and help companies find barter and countertrade deals.

Title 15, §4712

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The President shall establish an interagency group on countertrade, to be composed of representatives of such departments and agencies of the United States as the President considers appropriate. The Secretary of Commerce shall be the chairman of the interagency group.

(2)It shall be the function of the interagency group to—

(A)review and evaluate—

(i)United States policy on countertrade and offsets, in light of current trends in international countertrade and offsets and the impact of those trends on the United States economy;

(ii)the use of countertrade and offsets in United States exports and bilateral United States foreign economic assistance programs; and

(iii)the need for and the feasibility of negotiating with other countries, through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other appropriate international organizations, to reach agreements on the use of countertrade and offsets; and

(B)make recommendations to the President and the Congress on the basis of the review and evaluation referred to in subparagraph (A).

(3)Other departments and agencies of the United States shall provide to the interagency group such information available to such departments and agencies as the interagency group may request, except that the requirements, including penalties for violation thereof, for preserving the confidentiality of such information which are applicable to the officials, employees, experts, or consultants of such departments and agencies shall apply in the same manner to each member of the interagency group and to any other person performing any function under this subsection.

(b)(1)There is established, within the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, the Office of Barter (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Office”).

(2)There shall be at the head of the Office a Director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.

(3)The Secretary of Commerce shall transfer such staff to the Office as the Secretary determines is necessary to enable the Office to carry out its functions under this section.

(4)It shall be the function of the Office to—

(A)monitor information relating to trends in international barter;

(B)organize and disseminate information relating to international barter in a manner useful to business firms, educational institutions, export-related Federal, State, and local government agencies, and other interested persons, including publishing periodic lists of known commercial opportunities for barter transactions beneficial to United States enterprises;

(C)notify Federal agencies with operations abroad of instances where it would be beneficial to the United States for the Federal Government to barter Government-owned surplus commodities for goods and services purchased abroad by the Federal Government; and

(D)provide assistance to enterprises seeking barter and countertrade opportunities.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Composition of Interagency Group For composition of Interagency Group on Countertrade, see section 2–101 of Ex. Ord. No. 12661, Dec. 27, 1988, 54 F.R. 779, set out as a note under section 2901 of Title 19, Customs Duties.

§4712 Barter and Countertrade

Summary

Title 15, §4712

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Citations & Metadata