§1733 Information

Summary

The Secretary may share trade secrets, proprietary, and other confidential information with a State or an Indian tribe under a cooperative agreement, but only if the State or tribe agrees in writing to limit who sees it to people directly working on the audit or investigation and who need to know, accepts responsibility for any wrongful disclosure, and proves the information is essential for the audit or investigation (and for a State, also for litigation under section 1734). An Indian tribe must also expressly waive sovereign immunity for wrongful disclosure. The United States is not responsible if someone it shared the information with (an individual, a State, or an Indian tribe) wrongfully reveals it under a cooperative agreement or a delegation authorized by this law. Anyone who gets the information under a cooperative agreement, or under a delegation under section 1735, must follow the same federal rules about disclosure that apply to federal officers or the United States. A State or its officers and employees cannot be forced by State law to disclose trade secrets, proprietary, or other confidential information received under this chapter.