§ 1677f.
(c)
Limited disclosure of certain proprietary information under protective order
(1)
Disclosure by administering authority or Commission
(A)
In general
Upon receipt of an application (before or after receipt of the information requested) which describes in general terms the information requested and sets forth the reasons for the request, the administering authority or the Commission shall make all business proprietary information presented to, or obtained by it, during a proceeding (except privileged information, classified information, and specific information of a type for which there is a clear and compelling need to withhold from disclosure) available to interested parties who are parties to the proceeding under a protective order described in subparagraph (B), regardless of when the information is submitted during a proceeding. Customer names obtained during any investigation which requires a determination under section 1671d(b) or 1673d(b) of this title may not be disclosed by the administering authority under protective order until either an order is published under section 1671e(a) or 1673e(a) of this title as a result of the investigation or the investigation is suspended or terminated. The Commission may delay disclosure of customer names under protective order during any such investigation until a reasonable time prior to any hearing provided under section 1677c of this title.
(B)
Protective order
The protective order under which information is made available shall contain such requirements as the administering authority or the Commission may determine by regulation to be appropriate. The administering authority and the Commission shall provide by regulation for such sanctions as the administering authority and the Commission determine to be appropriate, including disbarment from practice before the agency.
(C)
Time limitation on determinations
The administering authority or the Commission, as the case may be, shall determine whether to make information available under this paragraph—
(i)
not later than 14 days (7 days if the submission pertains to a proceeding under section 1671b(a) or 1673b(a) of this title) after the date on which the information is submitted, or
(ii)
if—
(I)
the person that submitted the information raises objection to its release, or
(II)
the information is unusually voluminous or complex,
not later than 30 days (10 days if the submission pertains to a proceeding under section 1671b(a) or 1673b(a) of this title) after the date on which the information is submitted.
(D)
Availability after determination
If the determination under subparagraph (C) is affirmative, then—
(i)
the business proprietary information submitted to the administering authority or the Commission on or before the date of the determination shall be made available, subject to the terms and conditions of the protective order, on such date; and
(ii)
the business proprietary information submitted to the administering authority or the Commission after the date of the determination shall be served as required by subsection (d).
(E)
Failure to disclose
If a person submitting information to the administering authority refuses to disclose business proprietary information which the administering authority determines should be released under a protective order described in subparagraph (B), the administering authority shall return the information, and any nonconfidential summary thereof, to the person submitting the information and summary and shall not consider either.
(2)
Disclosure under court order
If the administering authority denies a request for information under paragraph (1), then application may be made to the United States Customs Court for an order directing the administering authority or the Commission to make the information available. After notification of all parties to the investigation and after an opportunity for a hearing on the record, the court may issue an order, under such conditions as the court deems appropriate, which shall not have the effect of stopping or suspending the investigation, directing the administering authority or the Commission to make all or a portion of the requested information described in the preceding sentence available under a protective order and setting forth sanctions for violation of such order if the court finds that, under the standards applicable in proceedings of the court, such an order is warranted, and that—
(A)
the administering authority or the Commission has denied access to the information under subsection (b)(1),
(B)
the person on whose behalf the information is requested is an interested party who is a party to the investigation in connection with which the information was obtained or developed, and
(C)
the party which submitted the information to which the request relates has been notified, in advance of the hearing, of the request made under this section and of its right to appear and be heard.
([June 17, 1930, ch. 497], title VII, § 777, as added [Pub. L. 96–39, title I, § 101], July 26, 1979, [93 Stat. 187]; amended [Pub. L. 98–573, title VI, § 619], Oct. 30, 1984, [98 Stat. 3038]; [Pub. L. 99–514, title XVIII], §§ 1886(a)(13), 1889(8), Oct. 22, 1986, [100 Stat. 2922], 2926; [Pub. L. 100–418, title I, § 1332], Aug. 23, 1988, [102 Stat. 1207]; [Pub. L. 100–449, title IV, § 403(c)], Sept. 28, 1988, [102 Stat. 1884]; [Pub. L. 101–382, title I], §§ 134(a)(4), 135(b), Aug. 20, 1990, [104 Stat. 650], 651; [Pub. L. 103–182, title IV, § 412(c)], Dec. 8, 1993, [107 Stat. 2146]; [Pub. L. 103–465, title II], §§ 226–228, 231(b), (d)(1), Dec. 8, 1994, [108 Stat. 4886–4888], 4896, 4897; [Pub. L. 114–125, title IV, § 413(a)], Feb. 24, 2016, [130 Stat. 159]; [Pub. L. 116–113, title IV, § 422(a)], Jan. 29, 2020, [134 Stat. 64]; [Pub. L. 116–260, div. O, title VI, § 601(f)], Dec. 27, 2020, [134 Stat. 2151].)