CFR

960.8—Notification of foreign agreements.

Licensees must notify the Assistant Administrator of any significant or substantial agreement that they intend to enter into with any foreign nation, entity, or consortium, not later than sixty (60) days prior to concluding the agreement.

(a) Upon notification by a licensee, pursuant to § 960.11(b)(5), the Assistant Administrator shall initiate review of the proposed agreement in light of the national security interests, foreign policy and international obligations of the U.S. Government.

(b) The Assistant Administrator shall, within three (3) working days of receipt of a proposed foreign agreement, forward a copy of the foreign agreement to the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of the Interior, and any other Federal agencies determined to have a substantial interest in the foreign agreement. The Assistant Administrator, in consultation with other appropriate agencies, will review the proposed foreign agreement. As part of this review, the Assistant Administrator will ensure that the proposed foreign agreement contains the appropriate provisions to ensure compliance with all requirements concerning national security interests, foreign policy and international obligations under the Act or the licensee's ability to comply with the Act, these regulations and the terms of the license. These requirements include:

(1) The ability to implement, as appropriate, restrictions on the foreign party's acquisition and dissemination of imagery as imposed by the license or by the Secretary;

(2) The obligations of the licensee to provide access to data for the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive; and

(3) The obligations of the licensee to convey to the foreign party the license's reporting and recordkeeping requirements and to facilitate any monitoring and compliance activities identified in the license.

(c) Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the proposed agreement, other agencies reviewing the agreement will notify the Assistant Administrator that the proposed agreement sufficiently addresses the requirements in paragraph (b) of this section or identify what changes will need to be made to the agreement to meet these requirements.

(d) (1) Within sixty (60) days of notification by the licensee, if the Assistant Administrator determines that a proposed agreement will impair his or her ability to enforce the Act, or the licensee's ability to comply with the Act, these regulations, or the terms or conditions of the license, the licensee will be notified which terms and conditions of the license are affected and, specifically, how the agreement impairs their enforcement.

(2) The proposed agreement may not be implemented by the licensee until the licensee has been advised by the Assistant Administrator that the provisions of the proposed agreement are acceptable.

(e) The licensee is required to provide NOAA a signed copy of the foreign agreement within thirty (30) days of signature.

(f) Following approval of the agreement, if the factual circumstances surrounding this transaction change, the licensee must notify NOAA within twenty-one (21) days of the change. The licensee's failure to notify NOAA in a timely manner may result in penalties for noncompliance being levied, pursuant to Section 203(a)(3) of the Act.

(g) A licensee seeking to enter into a foreign agreement that would require the modification of the terms of an existing license shall also submit a license amendment request and the proposed foreign agreement shall be considered in the context of the amendment review process.

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