§354.7. Charging letter. — Inbound Citations

(b) In determining under paragraph (a) of this section whether sanctions are appropriate, and, if so, what sanctions to impose, the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade will consider the nature of the violation, the resulting harm, and other relevant circumstances of the case. If the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade determines that sanctions are appropriate, the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade will initiate a proceeding under this part by issuing a charging letter under § 354.7. The Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade will determine whether to initiate a proceeding no later than 60 days after receiving a report of the investigation.

(a) If the Deputy Under Secretary concludes, after issuing a charging letter under § 354.7 and before a final decision is rendered, that interim sanctions are necessary to protect the interests of the Department or others, including the protection of business proprietary information, the Deputy Under Secretary may petition a presiding official to impose such sanctions.

If there is a final decision under § 354.15 to impose sanctions, or if a charging letter is settled under § 354.7(b), notice of the Secretary's decision or of the existence of a settlement will be published in the Federal Register. If a final decision is reached, such publication will be no sooner than 30 days after issuance of a final decision or after a motion to reconsider has been denied, if such a motion was filed. In addition, whenever the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade subjects a charged or affected party to a sanction under § 354.3(a)(1), the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade also will provide such information to the ethics panel or other disciplinary body of the appropriate bar associations or other professional associations and to any Federal agency likely to have an interest in the matter. The Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade will cooperate in any disciplinary actions by any association or agency. Whenever the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade subjects a charged or affected party to a private letter of reprimand under § 354.3(a)(5), the Secretary will not make public the identity of the violator, nor will the Secretary make public the specifics of the violation in a manner that would reveal indirectly the identity of the violator.