ITA Assists U.S. Chemical Manufacturers with Protecting Confidential Business Information in Japan
August 27, 2013
(ITA)
The International Trade Administration worked
with the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the
Society of Chemical Manufacturers and
Affiliates (SOCMA), Baker Hughes, and five
other companies to ensure that U.S. exporters
of chemical substances were able to protect
confidential business information (CBI) under
Japan’s amended Chemical Substances Control Law
(CSCL). As a result of combined government and
industry efforts, potential disruption to the
U.S.’s roughly $10 billion chemical export
market to Japan was successfully averted and
U.S. exporters are now able to protect their
CBI in Japan.
Why it Matters
If U.S. exporters are unable to protect their
CBI in foreign markets such as Japan, those
exporters face the difficult choice of whether
to risk exposing sensitive proprietary
information that often gives a firm its
inherent business advantage or stop exporting.
In addition, if exporters cannot protect CBI,
other U.S. and foreign manufacturers of
component chemicals may often be unwilling to
continue to supply the downstream
exporter/manufacturer, causing not only export
disruptions but potential disruptions to
long-standing business relationships.
The Problem
Japan amended its Chemical Substances Control
Law (CSCL) in 2009, creating a new risk-based
management system for chemicals that required
companies to notify the Japanese government of
a substance’s chemical identity, quantity, and
use information each Japanese fiscal year. The
original guidelines stated that exporters of
chemicals to Japan had to transmit reporting
data through private-sector Japanese importers,
putting at risk CBI since importers have
relationships with many different companies,
often including competitors. This revision of
the law also raised concerns about Japan
adhering to its WTO obligations requiring
confidentiality of such information.
The Solution
From May 2010, Commerce and U.S. industry
continually raised the issue with the Japanese
government in the form of meetings, letters,
and exchanges of proposals. Due to Commerce’s
and industry’s continuing efforts, the Japanese
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
announced the details of a new direct-reporting
option in early June 2011, shortly before the
close of the first annual reporting deadline.
As a result, chemical exporters are now able to
protect their CBI in Japan. METI also briefed
U.S. industry on the CSCL requirements in
Washington, DC, in August 2011.
Working closely with U.S. companies, ITA
creates, expands, and defends market access for
U.S. goods and services overseas through the
Trade Agreements Compliance Program. We promote
policy that develops a more favorable business
climate for U.S. companies in global markets,
employ commercial diplomacy to resolve trade
barriers, and leverage our bilateral and
multilateral trade agreements to ensure our
trading partners live up to their commitments
so that American businesses can compete on a
level playing-field.
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