Subject to the policy direction of the Office of the United States Trade Representative under section 3009 of this title, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the Commission shall, with respect to the activities of the Customs Cooperation Council relating to the Convention—

Subject to the policy direction of the Office of the United States Trade Representative under section 3009 of this title, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the Commission shall, with respect to the activities of the Customs Cooperation Council relating to the Convention—

(A) be primarily responsible for formulating United States Government positions on technical and procedural issues; and

(B) represent the United States Government.

(2) The Department of Agriculture and other interested Federal agencies shall provide to the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the Commission technical advice and assistance relating to the functions referred to in paragraph (1).

In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Commission shall—

(1) In connection with responsibilities arising from the implementation of the Convention and under section 1484(f) of this title regarding United States programs for the development of adequate and comparable statistical information on merchandise trade, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Commission shall prepare technical proposals that are appropriate or required to assure that the United States contribution to the development of the Convention recognizes the needs of the United States business community for a Convention which reflects sound principles of commodity identification, modern producing methods, and current trading patterns and practices.

In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Commission shall—

(A) solicit and consider the views of interested parties in the private sector (including a functional advisory committee) and of interested Federal agencies;

(B) establish procedures for reviewing, and developing appropriate responses to, inquiries and complaints from interested parties concerning articles produced in and exported from the United States; and

(C) where appropriate, establish procedures for— (i) ensuring that the dispute settlement provisions and other relevant procedures available under the Convention are utilized to promote United States export interests, and (ii) submitting classification questions to the Harmonized System Committee of the Customs Cooperation Council.

As soon as practicable after August 23, 1988, and periodically thereafter as appropriate, the Commission shall see to the publication of—

(1) summary records of the Harmonized System Committee of the Customs Cooperation Council; and

(2) subject to applicable copyright laws, the Explanatory Notes, Classification Opinions, and other instruments of the Customs Cooperation Council relating to the Convention.

(Pub. L. 100–418, title I, § 1210, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1152; Pub. L. 104–295, § 21(e)(10), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3531.)