An employee of the Department who has information indicating that the terms of an administrative protective order have been violated will provide the information to the Senior APO Specialist or the Chief Counsel.

Upon receiving information which indicates that a person may have violated the terms of an administrative protective order from an employee of the Department or any other person, the director will conduct an investigation concerning whether there was a violation of an administrative protective order, and who was responsible for the violation, if any. No director shall investigate an alleged violation that arose out of a proceeding for which the director was responsible. For the purposes of this part, the director will be supervised by the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade with guidance from the Chief Counsel. The director will conduct an investigation only if the information is received within 30 days after the alleged violation occurred or, as determined by the director, could have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable and ordinary care.

The director conducting the investigation will provide a report of the investigation to the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade, after review by the Chief Counsel, no later than 90 days after receiving information concerning a violation if:

The person alleged to have violated an administrative protective order personally notified the Secretary and reported the particulars surrounding the incident; and

The alleged violation did not result in any actual disclosure of business proprietary information. Upon the director's request, and if extraordinary circumstances exist, the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade may grant the director up to an additional 90 days to conduct the investigation and submit the report.

In all other cases, the director will provide a report of the investigation to the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade, after review by the Chief Counsel, no later than 180 days after receiving information concerning a violation. Upon the director's request, and if extraordinary circumstances exist, the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade may grant the director up to an additional 180 days to conduct the investigation and submit the report.

The following examples of actions that constitute violations of an administrative protective order shall serve as guidelines to each person subject to an administrative protective order. These examples do not represent an exhaustive list. Evidence that one of the acts described in the guidelines has been committed, however, shall be considered by the Deputy Under Secretary as reasonable cause to believe a person has violated an administrative protective order, within the meaning of § 354.6.

Disclosure of business proprietary information to any person other than the submitting party, an authorized applicant, or an appropriate Department official identified in section 777(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, including disclosure to an employee of any other United States Government agency or a member of Congress.

Failure to follow the terms and conditions outlined in the administrative protective order for safeguarding business proprietary information.

Loss of business proprietary information.

Failure to return or destroy all copies of the original documents and all notes, memoranda, and submissions containing business proprietary information at the close of the proceeding for which the data were obtained by burning or shredding of the documents or by erasing electronic memory, computer disk, or tape memory, as set forth in the administrative protective order.

Failure to delete business proprietary information from the public version of a brief or other correspondence filed with the Department.

Disclosure of business proprietary information during a public hearing.

Use of business proprietary information submitted in one segment of a proceeding in another segment of the same proceeding or in another proceeding, except as authorized by the Tariff Act of 1930 or by an administrative protective order.

Use of business proprietary information submitted for a countervailing duty investigation or administrative review during an antidumping duty investigation or administrative review, or vice versa.