(a) Agreements required to file minutes.

(1) This section applies to agreements authorized to engage in any of the following activities: discussion or establishment of any type of rates or charges, whether in tariffs or service contracts; pooling or apportionment of cargo traffic; discussion of revenues, losses, or earnings; or discussion or agreement on service contract matters, including the establishment of voluntary service contract guidelines.

(2) Each agreement to which this section applies shall file with the Commission, through a designated official, minutes of all meetings defined in paragraph (b) of this section, except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section.

(b) Meetings. For purposes of this subpart, the term meeting shall include all discussions at which any agreement is reached among any number of the parties to an agreement relating to the business of the agreement, and all other discussions among three or more members of the agreement (or all members if fewer than three) relating to the business of the agreement. This includes, but is not limited to, meetings of the members' agents, principals, owners, officers, employees, representatives, committees, or subcommittees, and communications among members facilitated by agreement officials. Discussions conducted by telephone, electronic device, or other means are included.

(c) Content of minutes. Minutes shall include the following:

(1) The date, time, and place of the meeting;

(2) A list of participants and companies represented;

(3) A description of discussions detailed enough so that a non-participant reading the minutes could reasonably gain a clear understanding of the nature and extent of the discussions and, where applicable, any decisions reached. Such description need not disclose the identity of the parties that participated in the discussion or the votes taken; and

(4) Any report, circular, notice, statistical compilation, analytical study, survey, or other work distributed, discussed, or exchanged at the meeting, whether presented by oral, written, electronic, or other means. Where the aforementioned materials are reasonably available to the public, a citation to the work or relevant part thereof is acceptable in lieu of the actual work. Any documents submitted to the Commission pursuant to this section need not disclose the identity of the party or parties that circulated the document at the meeting.

(d) Exemption. For parties to agreements subject to this section, the following exemptions shall apply:

(1) Minutes of meetings between parties are not required to reflect discussions of matters set forth in §535.408(b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4)(iii), (b)(4)(iv), (b)(4)(v), and (b)(4)(vi);

(2) Minutes of meetings between parties are not required to reflect discussion of matters set forth in §535.408(b)(5) to the extent that such discussions involve minor operational matters that have little or no impact on the frequency of vessel calls at ports or the amount of vessel capacity offered by the parties in the geographic scope of the agreement; and

(3) Minutes of meetings between parties are not required to reflect discussions of or actions taken with regard to rates that, if adopted, would be required to be published in an appropriate tariff. This exemption does not apply to discussions concerning general rate policy, general rate changes, the opening or closing of rates, service contracts, or time/volume rates.

(e) Serial numbers. Each set of minutes filed with the Commission shall include the agreement name and FMC number and a unique identification number indicating the sequence in which the meeting took place during the calendar year.

[69 FR 64414, Nov. 4, 2004, as amended at 70 FR 20303, Apr. 19, 2005]