U.S. CODE

U.S. Code

§ 4712. Barter and countertrade

(a) Interagency group

(1) Establishment

The President shall establish an interagency group on countertrade, to be composed of representatives of such departments and agencies of the United States as the President considers appropriate. The Secretary of Commerce shall be the chairman of the interagency group.

(2) Functions

It shall be the function of the interagency group to—

(A) review and evaluate—

(i) United States policy on countertrade and offsets, in light of current trends in international countertrade and offsets and the impact of those trends on the United States economy;

(ii) the use of countertrade and offsets in United States exports and bilateral United States foreign economic assistance programs; and

(iii) the need for and the feasibility of negotiating with other countries, through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other appropriate international organizations, to reach agreements on the use of countertrade and offsets; and

(B) make recommendations to the President and the Congress on the basis of the review and evaluation referred to in subparagraph (A).

(3) Sharing of information

Other departments and agencies of the United States shall provide to the interagency group such information available to such departments and agencies as the interagency group may request, except that the requirements, including penalties for violation thereof, for preserving the confidentiality of such information which are applicable to the officials, employees, experts, or consultants of such departments and agencies shall apply in the same manner to each member of the interagency group and to any other person performing any function under this subsection.

(b) Office of Barter

(1) Establishment

There is established, within the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, the Office of Barter (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Office”).

(2) Director

There shall be at the head of the Office a Director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.

(3) Staff

The Secretary of Commerce shall transfer such staff to the Office as the Secretary determines is necessary to enable the Office to carry out its functions under this section.

(4) Functions

It shall be the function of the Office to—

(A) monitor information relating to trends in international barter;

(B) organize and disseminate information relating to international barter in a manner useful to business firms, educational institutions, export-related Federal, State, and local government agencies, and other interested persons, including publishing periodic lists of known commercial opportunities for barter transactions beneficial to United States enterprises;

(C) notify Federal agencies with operations abroad of instances where it would be beneficial to the United States for the Federal Government to barter Government-owned surplus commodities for goods and services purchased abroad by the Federal Government; and

(D) provide assistance to enterprises seeking barter and countertrade opportunities.

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