19 CFR § 207.102 - Initiation of proceedings.

(a) Upon completion of the inquiry,

(1) If the Office of Unfair Import Investigations concludes that there is not reasonable cause to believe that a person or persons have committed a prohibited act, the Office of Unfair Import Investigations shall:

(i) Submit a report to the Commission; and

(ii) Unless the Commission directs otherwise, the file shall be closed and returned to the Commission Secretary.

(2) If the Office of Unfair Import Investigations concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that a person or persons have committed a prohibited act, the Office of Unfair Import Investigations shall:

(i) Make a recommendation to the Commission regarding whether and to what extent it is appropriate to notify the person whose proprietary information may have been compromised; and

(ii) Submit a report and recommendation to the Commission regarding whether to initiate sanctions proceedings or to take other appropriate action.

(b) The Commission may make any appropriate determination regarding the initiation of sanctions proceedings, including rejecting, approving, or approving and amending any recommendation made by the Office of Unfair Import Investigations.

(c) If the Commission determines that it is appropriate to issue a charging letter, the Commission shall appoint an administrative law judge to oversee the proceeding and the Commission Secretary shall initiate a proceeding under this subpart by issuing a charging letter as set forth in 19 CFR 207.103.

(d) If the Commission determines that it is appropriate to initiate proceedings, but that the party to be charged is beyond the jurisdiction of the Commission and within the jurisdiction of another Free Trade Area country, or that for other reasons an authorized agency of another Free Trade Area country would be the more appropriate forum for initiation of a proceeding, the Commission shall take the necessary steps for issuance of a letter requesting the authorized agency of another Free Trade Area country to initiate proceedings under applicable law on the basis of an alleged prohibited act.

(e) The Commission may make any determination regarding notification about the alleged prohibited act and the relevant underlying facts to the persons who submitted the proprietary information that allegedly has been disclosed. A determination by the Commission on this subject does not foreclose the administrative law judge from redetermining at any time during the hearing whether notification to the compromised party is appropriate.

(f) If the Commission determines that it is not appropriate to issue a charging letter or to refer the facts to the authorized agency of another Free Trade Area country, the file shall be closed and returned to the Commission Secretary, unless the Commission directs otherwise.

(g) All aspects of the inquiry shall remain confidential, except as deemed reasonably necessary to the Office of Unfair Import Investigations to gather relevant information and to protect the interests of the person who submitted the proprietary information, or except as otherwise ordered by the Commission. Except as the Commission may otherwise order, the Commission Secretary shall maintain all closed investigatory files in confidence to the extent permitted by law, and shall destroy any documentary evidence containing allegations of a prohibited act for which no proceeding is initiated one year after the file is closed.