[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 135 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36706-36708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17730]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Export Trade Certificate of Review
AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Issuance of an Export Trade Certificate of Review,
Application No. 96-00002.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce has issued an Export Trade
Certificate of Review to U.S. Leaf Tobacco Exporters, L.L.C. (``U.S.
Leaf''). This notice summarizes the conduct for which certification has
been granted.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: W. Dawn Busby, Director, Office of
Export Trading Company Affairs, International Trade Administration,
202-482-5131. This is not a toll-free number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III of the Export Trading Company Act
of 1982 (15 U.S.C. 400l-21) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to
issue Export Trade Certificates of Review. The regulations implementing
Title III are found at 15 CFR Part 325 (1994). The Office of Export
Trading Company Affairs (``OETCA'') is issuing this notice pursuant to
15 CFR 325.6(b), which requires the Department of Commerce to publish a
summary of a Certificate in the Federal Register. Under Section 305(a)
of the Act and 15 CFR 325.11(a), any person aggrieved by the
Secretary's determination may, within 30 days of the date of this
notice, bring an action in any appropriate district court of the United
States to set aside the determination on the ground that the
determination is erroneous.
Description of Certified Conduct
Export Trade
1. Products
Leaf tobacco and by-products.
2. Services
Buying, handling, processing and shipment of leaf tobacco and by-
products.
3. Export Trade Facilitation Services (as they Relate to the Export of
Products and Services)
Consulting, market research, advertising, marketing, insurance,
product research and design, legal assistance, transportation
(including trade documentation and freight forwarding), communication
and processing of orders, warehousing, foreign exchange, financing, and
taking title to goods.
Export Markets
The Export Markets are foreign state trading entities (``STEs'')
and are limited to the following: Algeria, China, Egypt, Korea,
Lebanon, Morocco, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Export Trade Activities and Methods of Operation
In connection with the promotion and sale of Members' Products and
Services into the Export Markets, U.S. Leaf and/or one or more of its
Members may:
a. Solicit orders or bids from STEs in Export Markets.
b. Design and execute foreign marketing strategies for sales in
Export Markets.
c. Quote charges to STEs for processing, shipping and handling
services relating to the sale of U.S. grown tobacco to such customers
and for dealer commissions and other miscellaneous buying charges. Such
quotes may be made by one or more Members individually or by U.S. Leaf
on behalf of such Members as may be interested in participating in such
transactions or opportunities.
d. Collect and exchange information about U.S. Leaf's or Members'
export operations and prior export sales by Members, including export
price information with respect to STEs.
e. Collaborate in the preparation and submission of individual or
joint bids for processing, shipping and handling charges relating to
the sale of tobacco to STEs in Export Markets.
f. Collect and exchange information and conduct joint negotiations
with STEs concerning estimated yields for the processing of green leaf
tobacco into redried tobacco.
g. Alocate export sales and/or export markets among Members.
h. Engage in joint promotional activities aimed at increasing sales
in existing Export Markets and identifying new Export Markets, such as:
arranging trade shows and marketing trips; providing advertising
services; providing brochures, industry newsletters and other forms of
product, service and industry information; conducting international
market and product research; procuring international marketing,
advertising and promotional services; and sharing the cost of these
joint promotional activities among the Members.
i. Collect and exchange information with respect to transportation
services utilized by Members in the export of U.S. grown tobacco,
including overseas freight transportation, inland freight
transportation from the Members' processing plants to the U.S. port of
embarkement, storage and warehousing, stevedoring, wharfage and
handling, insurance, forwarder services, trade documentation and
services, customs clearance, financial instruments and foreign
exchange.
j. Collect and exchange information and conduct joint negotiations
with STEs regarding contractual terms for export sales.
Terms and Conditions of Certificate
a. Except as expressly authorized in the Export Trade Activities
and Methods of Operations section of this Certificate, neither U.S.
Leaf nor any Member shall intentionally disclose, directly or
indirectly, to any other Member or Supplier any information that is
about its or any other Member's or Supplier's costs, production,
capacity, inventories, domestic prices, domestic sales, domestic
orders, terms of domestic marketing or sale, or U.S. business plans,
strategies, or methods, unless (1) such information is already
generally available to the trade or public; or (2) the information
disclosed is a necessary term or condition (e.g., price, time required
to fill an order, etc.) of an actual or potential bona fide sale and
the disclosure is limited to the prospective purchaser.
b. Any agreements, discussions, or exchanges of information under
this Certificate relating to quantities of Products available for
Export Markets shall be in connection only with actual or potential
bona fide export transactions and shall be on a transaction- by-
transaction basis only.
c. Participation by a Member in any Export Trade Activity or Method
of Operation under this Certificate shall be entirely voluntary as to
that Member, subject to the honoring of contractual commitments. A
Member may withdraw from coverage under this Certificate at any time by
giving written notice to U.S. Leaf, a copy of which U.S. Leaf shall
promptly transmit to the Departments of Commerce and Justice.
d. U.S. Leaf and its Members will comply with requests made by the
Secretary of Commerce on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce 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 of Commerce 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.
Definitions
``Members'', within the meaning of section 325.2(1) of the
Regulations, means the member companies of U.S. Leaf set out in
Attachment A and incorporated herein by reference.
``Processing'' means the processing of green leaf tobacco into
redried tobacco by the removal of moisture content, foreign matter and
stems, and the blending of such tobacco.
``Handling charges'' means all charges associated with the services
provided by the Members in connection with the buying of green leaf
tobacco and for the
[[Page 36708]]
delivery of redried tobacco to STEs, but excluding the cost of green
leaf tobacco at auction and processing charges. Handling charges
include, but are not limited to, inland freight, container cost, dealer
commissions, tagging, inspection, storage, warehousing, financing,
fumigation, by-product credits and ocean shipping.
``Subsidiary'' means a U.S. tobacco dealer which is a wholly- or
majority-owned subsidiary of a Member or of a Member's controlling
entity.
``Supplier'' means a person who produces, provides, or sells a
Product or Service, whether a Member or nonmember.
A copy of this certificate will be kept in the International Trade
Administration's Freedom of Information Records Inspection Facility
Room 4102, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.
Dated: July 1, 1996.
W. Dawn Busby,
Director, Office of Export Trading Company Affairs.
Attachment A
Member
Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Incorporated
Subsidiaries: Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Incorporated,
Richmond, VA; Virginia Tobacco Company, Incorporated, Richmond, VA;
Virsa Incorporated, Richmond, VA; Winston Leaf Tobacco Company,
Incorporated, Richmond, VA; Southern States Tobacco Company,
Incorporated, Richmond, VA; Thorpe & Ricks, Inc. (VA), Richmond, VA;
Thorpe-Greenville Export Tobacco Company, Rocky Mount, NC; Thorpe-
Ricks, Inc (NC), Rocky Mount, NC; Southern Processors, Inc.,
Danville, VA; Danville Leaf Tobacco Company, Inc., Danville, VA;
J.P. Taylor Company, Inc., Henderson, NC; Eastern Leaf Tobacco
Company, Richmond, VA; K.R. Edwards Leaf Tobacco Company,
Incorporated, Smithfield, NC; Southwestern Tobacco Company,
Incorporated, Lexington, KY; W.H. Winstead Company, Inc., Richmond,
VA; Tobacco Processors, Inc., Wilson, NC; R.P. Watson Company,
Richmond, VA; and Dunnington- Beach Tobacco, Incorporated,
Farmville, VA.
Member
DIMON International, Inc., Farmville, NC
Subsidiaries: A.C. Monk & Company, Inc., Farmville, NC; The
Austin Company, Incorporated, Kinston, NC; T.S. Ragsdale Company,
Inc., Lake City, NC; Dibrell Brothers Tobacco USA, Inc., Danville,
VA; Carolina Leaf Tobacco Company, Inc., Greenville, NC; Dimon
International, A.G., Basel, Switzerland; and Dimon Asia on behalf of
Dimon International, Inc., Farmville, NC.
Member
Unitob Inc., Greenville, NC
Subsidiaries: China American Tobacco Co., Greenville, NC; and
Intabex-Hail & Cotton International Co., Greenville, NC.
Member
Standard Commercial Corporation, Wilson, NC
Subsidiaries: Standard Commercial Tobacco Co., Inc., Wilson, NC;
and W A Adams Company, Wilson, NC.
Member
G.F. Vaughan Tobacco Co., Inc., Lexington, KY
[FR Doc. 96-17730 Filed 7-11-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P
