[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29922-29924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12132]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 20
Guides for the Rebuilt, Reconditioned and Other Used Automobile
Parts Industry, Request for Comments
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of the Commission's systematic review of all current
FTC rules and guides, the Commission requests public comment on the
costs, benefits, necessity for, and regulatory and economic impact of
the FTC's ``Guides for the Rebuilt, Reconditioned and Other Used
Automobile Parts Industry.''
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 3, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Used Auto Parts Guides
Review, 16 CFR Part 20, Project No. P127702'' on your comment, and file
your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/usedautopartsguide, by following the instructions on the web-based
form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail or deliver your
comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of
the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex B), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan L. Kessler, Attorney, East
Central Region, Federal Trade Commission, 1111 Superior Avenue, Suite
200, Cleveland, Ohio 44114, 216-263-3436.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Used Auto Parts Guides seek to prevent unfair or deceptive acts
or practices in the advertisement and sale (including installation) of
previously used motor vehicle parts and assemblies of parts containing
previously used parts (e.g., engines and transmissions). The Commission
first addressed the used automobile parts market in 1962, when it
issued its Trade Practice Rules for the Rebuilt, Reconditioned and
Other Used Automotive Parts Industry. In 1979 these rules were
rescinded and replaced with the ``Guides for the Rebuilt, Reconditioned
and Other Used Automobile Parts Industry'' (Used Auto Parts Guides or
Guides). The Guides have been in place since that time, but were
revised in 2002 to make minor language changes and to update the list
of commonly rebuilt or reused parts and assemblies.
In their current form, the Guides apply to ``used parts and
assemblies containing used parts designed for use in automobiles,
trucks, motorcycles, tractors, or similar self-propelled vehicles
whether or not such parts or assemblies have been reconstructed in any
way'' (Industry Product or Products). 16 CFR part 20. The Guides
prohibit both misrepresentations that an Industry Product is new and
misrepresentations of ``the current condition, or extent of previous
use, reconstruction, or repair of'' an Industry Product. 16 CFR
20.1(a). Industry Products must be clearly and conspicuously identified
as such in advertisements, on packaging, and, if
[[Page 29923]]
the product appears new, on the product itself. Further, the Guides
prohibit misrepresenting the identity of an Industry Product rebuilder.
16 CFR 20.2. The Guides describe the treatment an Industry Product must
receive before it can be described as ``rebuilt'' or
``remanufactured,'' and limit use of the term ``factory rebuilt'' to
Industry Products rebuilt ``at a factory generally engaged in the
rebuilding of such products.'' 16 CFR 20.3.
The Used Auto Parts Guides, like other industry guides issued by
the Commission, are ``administrative interpretations of laws
administered by the Commission for the guidance of the public in
conducting its affairs in conformity with legal requirements.'' 16 CFR
1.5. Conduct inconsistent with the Guides ``may result in corrective
action by the Commission under applicable statutory provisions.'' 16
CFR 1.5.
II. Regulatory Review Program
The Commission reviews all of its rules and guides periodically.
These reviews seek information about the costs, benefits, and
regulatory and economic impact of each rule and guide. The information
obtained assists the Commission in identifying rules and guides that
should be changed or eliminated. Accordingly, this Notice requests
comments addressing whether the Used Auto Parts Guides are still
needed, their costs and benefits to consumers and businesses, and
whether any changes are needed.
III. Request for Comments
Please provide any comments you have related to the Used Auto Parts
Guides. Particularly helpful would be comments that respond to all or
some of the following questions:
1. Are the Guides still needed? Why or why not?
2. What benefits do the Guides provide to consumers? What evidence
do you have or know of that shows these benefits?
3. What changes, if any, should the Commission make to the Guides
to increase their benefits to consumers?
a. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for consumers?
b. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for businesses, particularly small businesses?
c. What evidence do you have or know of that supports these
changes?
4. What costs have the Guides imposed on consumers? What evidence
do you have or know of that shows these costs?
5. What changes, if any, would reduce the costs the Guides impose
on consumers?
a. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for consumers?
b. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for businesses, particularly small businesses?
c. What evidence do you have or know of that supports these
changes?
6. What benefits, if any, have the Guides provided to businesses,
and in particular to small businesses? What evidence do you have or
know of that supports these benefits?
7. What changes, if any, should be made to the Guides to increase
their benefits to businesses, particularly small businesses?
a. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for consumers?
b. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for businesses, particularly small businesses?
c. What evidence do you have or know of that supports these
changes?
8. What costs, including costs of compliance, have the Guides
imposed on businesses, especially small businesses? What evidence do
you have or know of that supports these costs?
9. What changes, if any, should be made to the Guides to reduce the
costs imposed on businesses, particularly small businesses?
a. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for consumers?
b. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for businesses, particularly small businesses?
c. What evidence do you have or know of that supports these
changes?
10. What evidence, if any, has become available since 2002
concerning consumer perceptions of Industry Products (used vehicle
parts and assemblies of parts, such as engines and transmissions,
containing used parts)? Does this new information indicate that the
Guides should be modified? If so, why does the information indicate the
Guides should be modified, and how should they be modified?
11. The Guides now require that certain disclosures be clear and
conspicuous. Should the Guides define ``clear and conspicuous''? Why or
why not? What information should be in a definition of ``clear and
conspicuous''? (For example, other Commission rules define ``clear and
conspicuous'' as ``reasonably understandable and designed to call
attention to the nature and significance of the information.'' 16 CFR
313.3 (Privacy of Consumer Financial Information), 16 CFR 680.3
(Affiliate Marketing)).
12. Should the Guides be changed to specify when an installer of an
Industry Product (e.g., mechanic or technician) must disclose the use
of the Product to a consumer? If so:
a. What evidence, if any, do you have that shows that disclosure of
the installation of an Industry Product is not being made to consumers
at an appropriate time?
b. When should the installer disclose the use of an Industry
Product? (E.g., when the vehicle is left for servicing; when the
consumer is told that a replacement part is needed; when the consumer
retrieves the vehicle after the Industry Product has been installed.)
13. How have the Guides affected the flow of truthful information
to consumers? How have the Guides affected the flow of deceptive
information to consumers? What evidence do you have or know of that
shows the effect of the Guides on the flow of either truthful or
deceptive information to consumers?
14. What evidence is available concerning the degree of compliance
with the Guides? What does this evidence indicate about whether the
Guides should be kept, changed, or eliminated?
15. Are any parts of the Guides no longer needed? If so, which
parts? What evidence do you have or know of that supports your views?
16. What changes, if any, should be made to the Guides to account
for changes in technology or economic conditions?
a. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for consumers?
b. How would the changes affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for businesses, particularly small businesses?
c. What evidence do you have or know of that supports these
changes?
17. What acts or practices related to Industry Products do the
Guides currently not address, but which they should address? What
evidence do you have or know of that supports your views?
18. Is there a need for efforts to educate consumers or businesses
about the Used Auto Parts Guides? If so, what types of educational
activities should the Commission undertake?
19. The current Guides expressly exclude tires because when the
Guides were last amended the Commission had separate guides relating to
the advertising and selling of tires. These
[[Page 29924]]
tire guides have since been eliminated. Should the Used Auto Parts
Guides be changed to include tires? Why or why not? What evidence do
you have or know of that supports your views?
20. The current Guides state that they apply to Industry Products
``designed for use in automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, or
similar self-propelled vehicles.'' 16 CFR 20.0. Is this list adequate
to describe the vehicles to which the Guides should apply, or should
other vehicles be expressly mentioned? (E.g., all-terrain vehicles,
off-road construction vehicles, dune buggies or other off-road
recreation vehicles.) If so, which other vehicles should be mentioned,
and why? What evidence do you have or know of that supports your views?
21. Do the Used Auto Parts Guides overlap or conflict with other
laws or regulations, whether federal, state, or local? If so, how?
a. What evidence do you have or know of concerning the conflicts?
b. Should the Guides be changed because of these conflicts? If so,
how?
c. Have the Guides helped make the advertising and selling of
Industry Products more consistent across the country? If so, how?
22. Are there foreign or international laws, regulations, or
standards concerning the advertising and sale of Industry Products that
the Commission should consider as it reviews the Guides? If so, what
are they?
a. Should the Guides be changed to harmonize with these foreign or
international laws, regulations, or standards? Why or why not?
b. How would harmonization affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for consumers?
c. How would harmonization affect the costs and benefits of the
Guides for businesses, particularly small businesses?
IV. Instructions for Comment Submissions
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before August 3, 2012.
Write ``Used Auto Parts Guides Review, 16 CFR Part 20, Matter No. P12-
7702'' on your comment. Your comment B including your name and your
state B will be placed on the public record of this proceeding,
including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web
site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of
discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact
information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web
site.
Because your comment will be made public, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any
sensitive personal information, such as a Social Security number, date
of birth, driver's license number or other state identification number
or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial account
number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible
for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health
information, like medical records or other individually identifiable
health information. In addition, do not include any ``[t]rade secret or
any commercial or financial information which is obtained from any
person and which is privileged or confidential,'' as provided in
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively
sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories,
formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer
names.
If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained
in FTC Rule 4.9(c). 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the
public interest.
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\1\ In particular, the written request for confidential
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/usedautopartsguide, by following the instructions on the web-based
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you
also may file a comment through that Web site.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Used Auto Parts Guides
Review, 16 CFR Part 20, Matter No. P127702'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex B), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your
paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that
it receives on or before August 3, 2012. You can find more information,
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the
Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 20
Advertising, Motor vehicles, Trade Practices.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41-58.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-12132 Filed 5-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P