U.S. CODE

U.S. Code

§ 2489. Overseas commissary and exchange stores: access and purchase restrictions

(a) General Authority.—

(1) The Secretary of Defense may establish restrictions on the ability of eligible patrons of commissary and exchange stores located outside of the United States to purchase certain merchandise items (or the quantity of certain merchandise items) otherwise included within an authorized merchandise category if the Secretary determines that such restrictions are necessary to prevent the resale of such merchandise in violation of treaty obligations of the United States or host nation laws (to the extent such laws are not inconsistent with United States laws).

(2) In establishing a quantity or other restriction, the Secretary—

(A) may not discriminate among the various categories of eligible patrons of the commissary and exchange system; and

(B) shall ensure that the restriction is consistent with the purpose of the overseas commissary and exchange system to provide reasonable access for eligible patrons to purchase merchandise items made in the United States.

(b) Controlled Item Lists.— For each location outside the United States that is served by the commissary system or the exchange system, the Secretary of Defense may maintain a list of controlled merchandise items, except that, after October 17, 1998, the Secretary may not change the list to add a merchandise item unless, before making the change, the Secretary submits to Congress a notice of the proposed addition and the reasons for the addition of the item.

(c) Notification of Conditions Necessitating Restrictions.— The Secretary of Defense shall notify Congress of any change proposed or made to any of the host nation laws or any of the treaty obligations of the United States, and any changed conditions within host nations, if the change would necessitate the use of quantity or other restrictions on purchases in commissary and exchange stores located outside the United States.

Tips