19 U.S.C. § 2418 — Request for information

(a) After a person makes a written request, the Representative must provide available information, except information protected as confidential, about (1) the nature and extent of a foreign country’s specific trade policy or practice involving goods, services, investment, or intellectual-property rights; (2) United States rights under trade agreements and available agreement or United States-law remedies; and (3) past and current domestic and international proceedings or actions concerning the policy or practice. (b) If the Representative and other Federal agencies do not have requested information, within 30 days the Representative must either ask the foreign government for it or refuse to ask and explain the refusal in writing. (c)(1) Unless paragraph (2) applies, information received for a subchapter investigation must not be given to anyone, despite other law including section 552 of title 5, if the provider certifies that it is business-confidential, disclosure would endanger trade secrets or profitability, and it is not generally available; the Representative finds the certification well-founded; and, when regulations require, the provider supplies an adequate nonconfidential summary. (2) The Representative may use it or give it to a Federal employee for an investigation, or give it to another person in a form that cannot be linked to or identify the provider.