22 U.S.C. § 503 — Facilitating work of foreign traveling salesmen; licenses and certificates of identification

submitted 104 years ago by ch. 414 to r/title-22-FOREIGN-RELATIONS-AND-INTERCOURSE · 395 words · no verdicts yet

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The U.S. signed treaties with Uruguay, Guatemala, Salvador, Panama, and Venezuela to help traveling salesmen work across borders. Under these treaties, salesmen can get a license to work in the other country. The Secretary of Commerce issues these licenses and ID certificates, and collects a fee for each one.

This law explains and implements old trade treaties about traveling salesmen. Starting in 1918 and 1919, the United States signed treaties with Uruguay, Guatemala, Salvador (now El Salvador), Panama, and Venezuela. These treaties were meant to make it easier for traveling salesmen to work in each other's countries. The treaties' Article I says that a manufacturer, merchant, or trader based in one treaty country can send a salesman — either in person or through an agent or employee — into the other treaty country. To do this, the salesman must first pay a fee and get a license from that other country. Once issued, the license is valid across that whole country. But if a treaty country is at war, it can still stop enemy nationals, or other people it sees as a threat to public order and safety, from working there under this treaty. Article II says how to get that license. The salesman must first get a certificate from an authority in the manufacturer's or trader's home country, proving they are truly a commercial traveler. A consul from the country where the salesman wants to work must then approve ("visa") that certificate. Once the certificate is approved, the country where the salesman wants to work must issue the national license described in Article I. This law puts the Secretary of Commerce — or anyone at the Department of Commerce the Secretary picks — in charge of issuing these licenses and certificates. This applies to the treaties named above, and to any similar treaty the United States signs after September 22, 1922. The Secretary of Commerce may charge a reasonable fee for each license and certificate. The Secretary sets that fee amount by regulation, and the fee money must be paid into the U.S. Treasury every quarter.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

Whereas the United States has entered into conventions with the Governments of Uruguay, Guatemala, Salvador, Panama, and Venezuela which were signed on August 27, 1918, December 3, 1918, January 28, 1919, February 8, 1919, and July 3, 1919, respectively, for facilitating the work of traveling salesmen; and

Whereas Articles I and II of each of said conventions read as follows:

“Article I. Manufacturers, merchants, and traders domiciled within the jurisdiction of one of the high contracting parties may operate as commercial travelers either personally or by means of agents or employees within the jurisdiction of the other high contracting party on obtaining from the latter, upon payment of a single fee, a license which shall be valid throughout its entire territorial jurisdiction.

“In case either of the high contracting parties shall be engaged in war, it reserves to itself the right to prevent from operating within its jurisdiction under the provisions of this treaty, or otherwise, enemy nationals or other aliens whose presence it may consider prejudicial to public order and national safety.

“Art. II. In order to secure the license above mentioned the applicant must obtain from the country of domicile of the manufacturers, merchants, and traders represented a certificate attesting his character as commercial traveler. This certificate, which shall be issued by the authority to be designated in each country for the purpose, shall be visaed by the consul of the country in which the applicant proposes to operate, and the authorities of the latter shall, upon the presentation of such certificate, issue to the applicant the national license as provided in Article I.”

Now, therefore, the Secretary of Commerce, or any person in the Department of Commerce designated by him, is authorized to issue the licenses and certificates of identification which are provided for by the said Articles I and II, respectively, of the said conventions, or which may be provided for by similar articles in any convention or treaty that may, on and after September 22, 1922, be concluded by the United States with a foreign government, and is further authorized to collect a reasonable fee for each license and certificate of identification issued. The amount of such fee shall be fixed by regulations made by the Secretary of Commerce and shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States quarterly.

Source credit: (Sept. 22, 1922, ch. 414, 42 Stat. 1028.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1922Enacted · Act of Sept. 22, 1922, ch. 414 · 42 Stat. 1028

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 414 on 1922-09-22.

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