§ 4721. — United States and Foreign Commercial Service.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC4721]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 73--EXPORT ENHANCEMENT
SUBCHAPTER III--EXPORT PROMOTION
Sec. 4721. United States and Foreign Commercial Service
(a) Establishment
(1) In general
The Secretary of Commerce shall establish, within the
International Trade Administration, the United States and Foreign
Commercial Service. The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent
practicable, transfer to the Commercial Service the functions and
personnel of the United States and Foreign Commercial Services.
(2) Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General;
other personnel
The head of the Commercial Service shall be the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the Commercial
Service, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate. The Assistant Secretary of
Commerce and Director General of the Commercial Service may appoint
Commercial Service Officers and such other personnel as may be
necessary to carry out the activities of the Commercial Service.
(3) Coordination with foreign policy objectives
The Secretary shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the
activities of the Commercial Service are carried out in a manner
consistent with United States foreign policy objectives, and the
Secretary shall consult regularly with the Secretary of State in
order to comply with this paragraph.
(4) Authority of chief of mission
All activities of the Commercial Service shall be subject to
section 207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927).
(b) Statement of purpose
The Commercial Service shall place primary emphasis on the promotion
of exports of goods and services from the United States, particularly by
small businesses and medium-sized businesses, and on the protection of
United States business interests abroad by carrying out activities such
as--
(1) identifying United States businesses with the potential to
export goods and services and providing such businesses with advice
and information on establishing export businesses;
(2) providing United States exporters with information on
economic conditions, market opportunities, the status of the
intellectual property system in such country, and the legal and
regulatory environment within foreign countries;
(3) providing United States exporters with information and
advice on the necessary adaptation of product design and marketing
strategy to meet the differing cultural and technical requirements
of foreign countries;
(4) providing United States exporters with actual leads and an
introduction to contacts within foreign countries;
(5) assisting United States exporters in locating reliable
sources of business services in foreign countries;
(6) assisting United States exporters in their dealings with
foreign governments and enterprises owned by foreign governments;
(7) assisting the coordination of the efforts of State and local
agencies and private organizations which seek to promote United
States business interests abroad so as to maximize their
effectiveness and minimize the duplication of efforts;
(8) utilizing district and foreign offices as one-stop shops for
United States exporters by providing exporters with information on
all export promotion and export finance activities of the Federal
Government, assisting exporters in identifying which Federal
programs may be of greatest assistance, and assisting exporters in
making contact with the Federal programs identified; and
(9) providing United States exporters and export finance
institutions with information on all financing and insurance
programs of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Trade and Development
Program, and the Small Business Administration, including providing
assistance in completing applications for such programs and working
with exporters and export finance institutions to address any
deficiencies in such applications that have been submitted.
(c) Offices
(1) In general
The Commercial Service shall conduct its activities at a
headquarters office, district offices located in major United States
cities, and foreign offices located in major foreign cities.
(2) Headquarters
The headquarters of the Commercial Service shall provide such
managerial, administrative, research, and other services as the
Secretary considers necessary to carry out the purposes of the
Commercial Service.
(3) District offices
The Secretary shall establish district offices of the Commercial
Service in any United States city in a region in which the Secretary
determines that there is a need for Federal Government export
assistance.
(4) Foreign offices
(A) The Secretary may, after consultation with the Secretary of
State, establish foreign offices of the Commercial Service. These
offices shall be located in foreign cities in regions in which the
Secretary determines there are significant business opportunities
for United States exporters.
(B) The Secretary may, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, assign to the foreign offices Commercial Service Officers and
such other personnel as the Secretary considers necessary. In
employing Commercial Service Officers and such other personnel, the
Secretary shall use the Foreign Service personnel system in
accordance with the Foreign Service Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 3901 et
seq.]. The Secretary shall designate a Commercial Officer \1\ as
head of each foreign office.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``Commercial Service
Officer''.
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(C) Upon the request of the Secretary, the Secretary of State
shall attach the Commercial Service Officers and other employees of
each foreign office to the diplomatic mission of the United States
in the country in which that foreign office is located, and shall
obtain for them diplomatic privileges and immunities equivalent to
those enjoyed by Foreign Service personnel of comparable rank and
salary.
(D) For purposes of official representation, the senior
Commercial Service Officer in each country shall be considered to be
the senior commercial representative of the United States in that
country, and the United States chief of mission in that country
shall accord that officer all privileges and responsibilities
appropriate to the position of senior commercial representative of
other countries.
(E) The Secretary of State is authorized, upon the request of
the Secretary, to provide office space, equipment, facilities, and
such other administrative and clerical services as may be required
for the operation of the foreign offices. The Secretary is
authorized to reimburse or advance funds to the Secretary of State
for such services.
(F) The authority of the Secretary under this paragraph shall be
subject to section 4802 of title 22.
(d) Rank of Commercial Service Officers in foreign missions
(1) Minister-Counselor
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is
authorized to designate up to 16 United States missions abroad at
which the senior Commercial Service Officer will be able to use the
diplomatic title of Minister-Counselor. The Secretary of State shall
accord the diplomatic title of Minister-Counselor to the senior
Commercial Service Officer assigned to a United States mission so
designated.
(2) Consul General
In any United States consulate in which a vacancy occurs in the
position of Consul General, the Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary, shall consider filling that vacancy with a
Commercial Service Officer if the primary functions of the consulate
are of a commercial nature and if there are significant business
opportunities for United States exporters in the region in which the
consulate is located.
(e) Information dissemination
In order to carry out subsection (b)(7) of this section, to lessen
the cost of distribution of information produced by the Commercial
Service, and to make that information more readily available, the
Secretary should establish a system for distributing that information in
those areas where no district offices of the Commercial Service are
located. Distributors of the information should be State export
promotion agencies or private export and trade promotion associations.
The distribution system should be consistent with cost recovery
objectives of the Department of Commerce.
(f) Cooperation in Federal financing and insurance programs
To assist the Commercial Service in carrying out subsection (b)(9)
of this section, and consistent with the provisions of section 635i-7 of
title 12, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation, the Trade and Development Program, and
the Small Business Administration shall each--
(1) provide to the Commercial Service complete and current
information on all of its programs and financing practices; and
(2) undertake a training program regarding such programs and
practices for Commercial Service Officers who are designated by the
Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the
Commercial Service.
(g) Audits
The Inspector General of the Department of Commerce shall perform
periodic audits of the operations of the Commercial Service, but at
least once every 3 years. The Inspector General shall report to the
Congress the results of each such audit. In addition to an overview of
the activities and effectiveness of Commercial Service operations, the
audit shall include--
(1) an evaluation of the current placement of domestic personnel
and recommendations for transferring personnel among district
offices;
(2) an evaluation of the current placement of foreign-based
personnel and recommendations for transferring such personnel in
response to newly emerging business opportunities for United States
exporters; and
(3) an evaluation of the personnel system and its management,
including the recruitment, assignment, promotion, and performance
appraisal of personnel, the use of limited appointees, and the
``time-in-class'' system.
(h) Report by Secretary
Not later than 1 year after August 23, 1988, the Secretary shall
submit a report to the Congress on the feasibility and desirability, the
progress to date, the present status, and the 5-year outlook, of the
comprehensive integration of the functions and personnel of the foreign
and domestic export promotion operations within the International Trade
Administration of the Department of Commerce.
(i) Omitted
(j) Definitions
For purposes of this section--
(1) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce;
(2) the term ``Commercial Service'' means the United States and
Foreign Commercial Service;
(3) the term ``United States exporter'' means--
(A) a United States citizen;
(B) a corporation, partnership, or other association created
under the laws of the United States or of any State; or
(C) a foreign corporation, partnership, or other
association, more than 95 percent of which is owned by persons
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B),
that exports, or seeks to export, goods or services produced in the
United States;
(4) the term ``small business'' means any small business concern
as defined under section 632 of this title;
(5) the term ``State'' means any of the several States, the
District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession
of the United States; and
(6) the term ``United States'' means the several States, the
District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession
of the United States.
(Pub. L. 100-418, title II, Sec. 2301, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1338;
Pub. L. 102-429, title II, Secs. 202, 203, 205, Oct. 21, 1992, 106 Stat.
2201, 2204.)
References in Text
The Foreign Service Act of 1980, referred to in subsec. (c)(4)(B),
is Pub. L. 96-465, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071, as amended, which is
classified principally to chapter 52 (Sec. 3901 et seq.) of Title 22,
Foreign Relations and Intercourse. For complete classification of this
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3901 of
Title 22 and Tables.
Codification
Section is comprised of section 2301 of Pub. L. 100-418. Subsec. (i)
of section 2301 of Pub. L. 100-418 amended section 5315 of Title 5,
Government Organization and Employees.
Amendments
1992--Subsec. (b)(8), (9). Pub. L. 102-429, Secs. 202, 203(a), added
pars. (8) and (9).
Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 102-429, Sec. 205, substituted ``16'' for
``8''.
Subsecs. (f) to (j). Pub. L. 102-429, Sec. 203(b), added subsec. (f)
and redesignated former subsecs. (f) to (i) as (g) to (j), respectively.
Termination of Reporting Requirements
For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec.
(g) of this section relating to reporting results of audits to Congress,
see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104-66, as amended, set out as a note under
section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 53 of House
Document No. 103-7.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 4727, 4728 of this title;
title 12 section 635i-7.
