[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14092-14094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06248]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[Application No. 14-00004]
Export Trade Certificate of Review
ACTION: Notice of Issuance of an Export Trade Certificate of Review to
DFA of California, Application no. 14-00004.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Commerce, through the Office of Trade and
Economic Analysis (``OTEA'') of the International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce, issued an Export Trade Certificate of Review to
DFA of California on March 2, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Flynn, Director, Office of
Trade and Economic Analysis, International Trade Administration, (202)
482-5131 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at [email protected].
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. An Export Trade Certificate
of Review protects the holder and the members identified in the
Certificate from State and Federal government antitrust actions and
from private treble damage antitrust actions for the export conduct
specified in the Certificate and carried out in compliance with its
terms and conditions. Section 302(b)(1) of the Export Trading Company
Act of 1982 and 15 CFR 325.6(a) require the Secretary to publish a
notice in the Federal Register identifying the applicant and
summarizing its proposed export conduct.
Members (within the meaning of 15 CFR 325.2(1))
1. Alpine Pacific Nut Company (Hughson, CA)
2. Andersen & Sons Shelling (Vina, CA)
3. Avanti Nut Company, Inc. (Stockton, CA)
4. Berberian Nut Company, LLC (Chico, CA)
5. Carriere Family Farms, Inc. (Glenn, CA)
6. Continente Nut LLC (Oakley, CA)
7. Crain Walnut Shelling, Inc. (Los Molinos, CA)
8. Crisp California Walnuts (Stratford, CA)
9. Diamond Foods, Inc. (Stockton, CA)
10. Empire Nut Company (Colusa, CA)
11. Gold River Orchards, Inc. (Escalon, CA)
12. Grower Direct Nut Company (Hughson, CA)
13. GSF Nut Company (Orosi, CA)
14. Guerra Nut Shelling Company (Hollister, CA)
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15. Hill View Packing Company Inc. (Gustine, CA)
16. Linden Nut Company (Linden, CA)
17. Mariani Nut Company (Winters, CA)
18. Mariani Packing Company, Inc. (Vacaville, CA)
19. Mid Valley Nut Company Inc. (Hughson, CA)
20. National Raisin Company (Fowler, CA)
21. Poindexter Nut Company (Selma, CA)
22. Prima Noce Packing (Linden, CA)
23. Sacramento Packing, Inc. (Yuba City, CA)
24. Sacramento Valley Walnut Growers, Inc. (Yuba City, CA)
25. San Joaquin Figs, Inc. (Fresno, CA)
26. Shoei Foods USA, Inc. (Olivehurst, CA)
27. Stapleton-Spence Packing (Gridley, CA)
28. Sunsweet Growers Inc. (Yuba City, CA)
29. T.M. Duche Nut Company, Inc. (Orland, CA)
30. Wilbur Packing Company, Inc. (Live Oak, CA)
31. Valley Fig Growers (Fresno, CA)
Description of Certified Conduct
DFA of California (``DFA'') is certified to engage in the Export
Trade Activities and Methods of Operation described below in the
following Export Trade and Export Markets.
Export Trade
Products: California Figs, Prunes, and Walnuts in processed and
unprocessed form.
Export Trade Facilitation Services (as They Relate to the Export of
Products): All export trade-related facilitation services, including
but not limited to: development of trade strategy; sales, marketing,
and distribution; foreign market development; export promotion; and
services related to trade documentation, foreign exchange, customs,
duties, taxes, inspection, and quality control.
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 Operations
For purposes of the Certificate of Review, ``members'' and
``membership'' refer to members of and membership in DFA of California;
and ``Members'' and ``Membership'' refer to Members under the
Certificate within the meaning of 15 CFR 325.2(1).
1. To engage in Export Trade in the Export Markets, DFA and Members
may, subject to the Terms and Conditions below, exchange and discuss
the following information:
a. Information about expenses specific to exporting to and within
the Export Markets, including without limitation, transportation,
transmodal or intermodal shipments, insurance, inland freight to port,
port storage, commissions, export sales, documentation, financing,
customs, duties and taxes;
b. Information about U.S. and foreign legislation and regulations,
including federal marketing order programs, affecting sales of Products
for the Export Markets;
c. Information about DFA's or its Members' export operations,
including without limitation, sales and distribution networks
established by DFA or its Members in the Export Markets;
d. Information about the credit terms extended to, and credit
history of, export customers.
2. To engage in Export Trade in the Export Markets, DFA and its
Members may, subject to the Terms and Conditions below, and further
subject to the condition that the information is either (1) publicly
available, or (2) if not publicly available, then compiled and
distributed only in aggregate and summary form, by a person who is not
employed by, nor affiliated with, a Processor or Packer, and in a
manner that does not disclose either directly or by inference
information about a transaction of any specific Member, exchange and
discuss the following information:
a. With respect to the Export Markets, information about sales and
marketing efforts, activities and opportunities for sales of Products,
selling strategies, sales contracts, pricing, projected demand,
customary terms of sale, and specifications for Products by customers
in the Export Markets;
b. With respect to Products available from Members for export,
information about price, quality, and quantity; and
c. Information about prior export sales by Members, including
export prices.
3. DFA and its Members may meet to engage in the activities
described in paragraphs 1 and 2 above.
4. DFA and its Members may prescribe the following conditions for
admission and termination of members of DFA as participants in the
Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operation and as Members of the
Certificate (within the meaning of 15 CFR 325.2(1)) (``Membership''):
a. DFA may limit Membership to Fig, Prune, or Walnut Processors or
Packers as defined under ``Definitions.''
b. DFA may terminate Membership on the occurrence of one or more of
the following events:
i. Withdrawal or resignation of a Member;
ii. Expulsion approved by a majority of all Members for a material
violation of DFA's by-laws, after prior written notice to the Member
proposed to be expelled and an opportunity of such Member to appear and
be heard before a meeting of the Members;
iii. Death or permanent disability of a Member who is an individual
or the dissolution of a Member other than an individual; or
iv. The bankruptcy of a Member, as provided in DFA's by-laws.
5. DFA and its Members may establish the following Minimum
Qualifications for Members to participate in the DFA's Export
Committees for Figs, Natural Condition Prunes, Prune Processors and
Walnuts. There are no additional requirements for participation in the
Fig and Walnut Export Committees.
a. A participant in any of the Export Committees must be:
i. A DFA Member;
ii. Owner of a commercially viable processing facility;
iii. In good standing with DFA credit terms (Payment net 30); and
iv. With personal and business conduct consistent with the highest
industry standards as necessary to protect the integrity of the
committee.
b. Fig Export Committee: A participant must meet the Minimum
Qualifications.
c. Natural Condition Prune Export Committee: In addition to meeting
the Minimum Qualifications, participation in this export committee
requires that the Member be a packer of natural condition prunes for
export.
d. Prune Processor Export Committee:
i. In addition to meeting the Minimum Qualifications, participation
in this export committee requires that the Member be a processor of
processed prunes for export;
ii. Participation also requires that the Member has the capability
to thermally process and pack fruit into a consumer-ready product to a
minimum 25% moisture level suitable for end user consumption.
e. Walnut Export Committee: A participant must meet the Minimum
Qualifications.
6. Export Committees can elect to have guest speakers (such as
[[Page 14094]]
economists, university professors, or researchers) present relevant
industry information during the meetings.
Definition
1. ``Processor or Packer'' means a person or entity that processes
or packs figs, prunes or walnuts grown in California.
2. ``Member'' means the Members of DFA listed in Attachment A and
any other members of DFA added as Members under the Certificate through
amendment of the Certificate.
3. ``Natural Condition Prunes'' means prunes (with pits) in the
condition in which they are normally delivered from a dry yard or
dehydrator and may include:
a. Prunes which have been washed but which retain natural
condition;
b. Prunes which will permit normal bulk storage without adding a
preservative;
c. Prunes which will permit normal bulk storage without adding a
preservative;
d. Prunes which have been size graded;
e. Prunes which may have been processed and re-dried to acceptable
natural condition moisture content; and
f. Prunes in which the average moisture content of a lot is 21% or
less.
4. ``Processed Prunes'' means prunes which have been thermally
processed (e.g., treated with hot water or steam) in the course of
their preparation for packaging to the extent that their condition no
longer meets the definition of ``natural condition.''
Terms and Conditions of the Certificate
1. Neither DFA nor any Member shall intentionally disclose,
directly or indirectly, to DFA or to any other Member any information
about its own or any other Member's costs, output, capacity,
inventories, domestic prices, domestic sales, domestic orders, terms of
domestic marketing or sale, U.S. business plans, strategies, or methods
that is (1) not already generally available to the trade or public; or
(2) made in connection with the administration of a United States
Department of Agriculture marketing order for any Product.
2. Meetings at which DFA Members discuss the information under
paragraphs 1 of the Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operations
above shall not be open to the public.
3. Participation by a Member in any Export Trade Activity or Method
of Operation under this Certificate shall be entirely voluntary as to
that Member. A Member may withdraw from Membership under this
Certificate at any time by giving a written notice to DFA, a copy of
which DFA shall promptly transmit to the Secretary of Commerce and the
Attorney General.
4. DFA and its 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.
Dated: March 12, 2015.
Anne Flatness,
Acting Director, Office of Trade and Economic Analysis, International
Trade Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-06248 Filed 3-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P