§4515. Administration of dispute settlement proceedings

(a) United States Section of Secretariat

(1) Establishment or designation of office

The President is authorized to establish or designate within the Department of Commerce an office to serve as the United States Section of the Secretariat established under article 30.6 of the USMCA.

(2) Functions and administrative assistance

The office established or designated under paragraph (1), subject to the oversight of the interagency group established under section 411(c)(2),¹ shall-

(A) carry out its functions within the Secretariat to facilitate the operation of the USMCA, including the operation of section D of chapter 10 and chapter 31 of the USMCA; and

(B) provide administrative assistance to-

(i) panels established under chapter 31 of the USMCA, including under Annex 31–A (relating to the Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism);

(ii) technical advisers and experts provided for under chapter 31 of the USMCA;

(iii) binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees established under section D of chapter 10 of the USMCA; and

(iv) binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees established under NAFTA for matters covered by article 34.1 of the USMCA (relating to transition from NAFTA).

(3) Treatment of office under Freedom of Information Act

The office established or designated under paragraph (1) shall not be considered an agency for purposes of section 552 of title 5.

(b) Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2020 to the Department of Commerce $2,000,000 for-

(1) the operations of the office established or designated under subsection (a)(1); and

(2) the payment of the United States share of the expenses of-

(A) panels established under chapter 31 of the USMCA, including under Annex 31–A (relating to the Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism);

(B) binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees established under section D of chapter 10 of the USMCA; and

(C) binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees established under NAFTA for matters covered by article 34.1 of the USMCA (relating to transition from NAFTA).

(c) Reimbursement of certain expenses

If the Canadian Section or the Mexican Section of the Secretariat provides funds to the United States Section during any fiscal year as reimbursement for expenses in connection with dispute settlement proceedings under section D of chapter 10 or chapter 31 of the USMCA, or under chapter 19 of NAFTA, the United States Section may, notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, retain and use such funds to carry out the functions described in subsection (a)(2).

( Pub. L. 116–113, title I, §105, Jan. 29, 2020, 134 Stat. 18 .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 411(c)(2), referred to in subsec. (a)(2), means section 411(c)(2) of Pub. L. 116–113, but probably should be a reference to section 412(c)(2) of that Act, which establishes an interagency group and is classified to section 4582(c)(2) of this title.

The Freedom of Information Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is section 552 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions

Proc. No. 10053, par. (8), June 29, 2020, 85 F.R. 39826, authorized The Secretary of Commerce to exercise the authority of the President under subsec. (a) of this section to establish or designate an office within the Department of Commerce to carry out the functions set forth in that subsection.

¹ See References in Text note below.