§ 6272.
(a)
Exclusiveness of section’s requirements
Effective 90 days after December 22, 1975, the requirements of this section shall be the sole procedures applicable to—
(1)
the development or carrying out of voluntary agreements and plans of action to implement the international emergency response provisions, and
(2)
the availability of immunity from the antitrust laws with respect to the development or carrying out of such voluntary agreements and plans of action.
(c)
Requirements for standards and procedures
The standards and procedures prescribed under subsection (b) shall include the following requirements:
(1)
(A)
(i)
Except as provided in clause (ii) or (iii) of this subparagraph, meetings held to develop or carry out a voluntary agreement or plan of action under this subsection shall permit attendance by representatives of committees of Congress and interested persons, including all interested segments of the petroleum industry, consumers, and the public; shall be preceded by timely and adequate notice with identification of the agenda of such meeting to the Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, committees of Congress, and (except during an international energy supply emergency with respect to meetings to carry out a voluntary agreement or to develop or carry out a plan of action) the public; and shall be initiated and chaired by a regular full-time Federal employee.
(ii)
Meetings of bodies created by the International Energy Agency established by the international energy program need not be open to interested persons and need not be initiated and chaired by a regular full-time Federal employee.
(iii)
The President, in consultation with the Secretary, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General, may determine that a meeting held to carry out a voluntary agreement or to develop or carry out a plan of action shall not be open to interested persons or that attendance by interested persons may be limited, if the President finds that a wider disclosure would be detrimental to the foreign policy interests of the United States.
(B)
No meetings may be held to develop or carry out a voluntary agreement or plan of action under this section unless a regular full-time Federal employee is present.
(2)
Interested persons permitted to attend such a meeting shall be afforded an opportunity to present, in writing and orally, data, views, and arguments at such meetings, subject to any reasonable limitations with respect to the manner of presentation of data, views, and arguments as the Secretary may impose.
(3)
A full and complete record, and where practicable a verbatim transcript, shall be kept of any meeting held, and a full and complete record shall be kept of any communication (other than in a meeting) made, between or among participants or potential participants, to develop, or carry out a voluntary agreement or a plan of action under this section. Such record or transcript shall be deposited, together with any agreement resulting therefrom, with the Secretary, and shall be available to the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission. Such records or transcripts shall be available for public inspection and copying in accordance with
section 552 of title 5; except that (A) matter may not be withheld from disclosure under section 552(b) of such title on grounds other than the grounds specified in section 552(b)(1), (b)(3), or so much of (b)(4) as relates to trade secrets; and (B) in the exercise of authority under section 552(b)(1), the President shall consult with the Secretary of State, the Secretary, and the Attorney General with respect to questions relating to the foreign policy interests of the United States.
(4)
No provision of this section may be exercised so as to prevent representatives of committees of Congress from attending meetings to which this section applies, or from having access to any transcripts, records, and agreements kept or made under this section. Such access to any transcript that is required to be kept for any meeting shall be provided as soon as practicable (but not later than 14 days) after that meeting.
(d)
Participation of Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission in development and carrying out of voluntary agreements and plans of action
(1)
The Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission shall participate from the beginning in the development, and when practicable, in the carrying out of voluntary agreements and plans of action authorized under this section. Each may propose any alternative which would avoid or overcome, to the greatest extent practicable, possible anticompetitive effects while achieving substantially the purposes of this part. A voluntary agreement or plan of action under this section may not be carried out unless approved by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Federal Trade Commission. Prior to the expiration of the period determined under paragraph (2), the Federal Trade Commission shall transmit to the Attorney General its views as to whether such an agreement or plan of action should be approved, and shall publish such views in the Federal Register. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary, shall have the right to review, amend, modify, disapprove, or revoke, on his own motion or upon the request of the Federal Trade Commission or any interested person, any voluntary agreement or plan of action at any time, and, if revoked, thereby withdraw prospectively any immunity which may be conferred by subsection (f) or (j).
(2)
Any voluntary agreement or plan of action entered into pursuant to this section shall be submitted in writing to the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission 20 days before being implemented; except that during an international energy supply emergency, the Secretary, subject to approval of the Attorney General, may reduce such 20-day period. Any such agreement or plan of action shall be available for public inspection and copying, except that a plan of action shall be so available only to the extent to which records or transcripts are so available as provided in the last sentence of subsection (c)(3). Any action taken pursuant to such voluntary agreement or plan of action shall be reported to the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission pursuant to such regulations as shall be prescribed under paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (e).
(3)
A plan of action may not be approved by the Attorney General under this subsection unless such plan (A) describes the types of substantive actions which may be taken under the plan, and (B) is as specific in its description of proposed substantive actions as is reasonable in light of circumstances known at the time of approval.
(e)
Monitoring of development and carrying out of voluntary agreements and plans of action by Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission
(1)
The Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission shall monitor the development and carrying out of voluntary agreements and plans of action authorized under this section in order to promote competition and to prevent anticompetitive practices and effects, while achieving substantially the purposes of this part.
(2)
In addition to any requirement specified under subsections (b) and (c) of this section and in order to carry out the purposes of this section, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission and the Secretary, may promulgate rules concerning the maintenance of necessary and appropriate records related to the development and carrying out of voluntary agreements and plans of action authorized pursuant to this section.
(3)
Persons developing or carrying out voluntary agreements and plans of action authorized pursuant to this section shall maintain such records as are required by rules promulgated under paragraph (2). The Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission shall have access to and the right to copy such records at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice.
(4)
The Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission may each prescribe such rules as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out their respective responsibilities under this section. They may both utilize for such purposes and for purposes of enforcement any powers conferred upon the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice, or both, by the antitrust laws or the Antitrust Civil Process Act [
15 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.]; and wherever any such law refers to “the purposes of this Act” or like terms, the reference shall be understood to include this section.
(f)
Defense to civil or criminal antitrust actions
(1)
There shall be available as a defense to any civil or criminal action brought under the antitrust laws (or any similar State law) in respect to actions taken to develop or carry out a voluntary agreement or plan of action by persons engaged in the business of producing, transporting, refining, distributing, or storing petroleum products (provided that such actions were not taken for the purpose of injuring competition) that—
(A)
such actions were taken—
(i)
in the course of developing a voluntary agreement or plan of action pursuant to this section, or
(ii)
to carry out a voluntary agreement or plan of action authorized and approved in accordance with this section, and
(B)
such persons complied with the requirements of this section and the rules promulgated hereunder.
(2)
Except in the case of actions taken to develop a voluntary agreement or plan of action, the defense provided in this subsection shall be available only if the person asserting the defense demonstrates that the actions were specified in, or within the reasonable contemplation of, an approved voluntary agreement or plan of action.
(3)
Persons interposing the defense provided by this subsection shall have the burden of proof, except that the burden shall be on the person against whom the defense is asserted with respect to whether the actions were taken for the purpose of injuring competition.
([Pub. L. 94–163, title II, § 252], Dec. 22, 1975, [89 Stat. 894]; [Pub. L. 95–619, title VI, § 691(b)(2)], Nov. 9, 1978, [92 Stat. 3288]; [Pub. L. 96–30], June 30, 1979, [93 Stat. 80]; [Pub. L. 96–94], Oct. 31, 1979, [93 Stat. 720]; [Pub. L. 96–133], §§ 1, 2, Nov. 30, 1979, [93 Stat. 1053]; [Pub. L. 97–5], Mar. 13, 1981, [95 Stat. 7]; [Pub. L. 97–50], Sept. 30, 1981, [95 Stat. 957]; [Pub. L. 97–163], Apr. 1, 1982, [96 Stat. 24]; [Pub. L. 97–190], June 1, 1982, [96 Stat. 106]; [Pub. L. 97–217], July 19, 1982, [96 Stat. 196]; [Pub. L. 97–229, § 2(a)], (b)(2), Aug. 3, 1982, [96 Stat. 248]; [Pub. L. 98–239], Mar. 20, 1984, [98 Stat. 93]; [Pub. L. 99–58, title I], §§ 104(c)(2), (4), 105, July 2, 1985, [99 Stat. 105]; [Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1091(g)], Dec. 21, 1995, [109 Stat. 722]; [Pub. L. 105–177, § 1(4)], June 1, 1998, [112 Stat. 105].)