§ 20. — Market reports.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC20]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 1--COMMODITY EXCHANGES
Sec. 20. Market reports
(a) Information
The Commission may conduct regular investigations of the markets for
goods, articles, services, rights, and interests which are the subject
of futures contracts, and furnish reports of the findings of these
investigations to the public on a regular basis. These market reports
shall, where appropriate, include information on the supply, demand,
prices, and other conditions in the United States and other countries
with respect to such goods, articles, services, rights, interests, and
information respecting the futures markets.
(b) Avoidance of duplication
The Commission shall cooperate with the Department of Agriculture
and any other Department or Federal agency which makes market
investigations to avoid unnecessary duplication of information-gathering
activities.
(c) Furnishing of information; confidentiality
The Department of Agriculture and any other Department or Federal
agency which has market information sought by the Commission shall
furnish it to the Commission upon the request of any authorized employee
of the Commission. The Commission shall abide by any rules of
confidentiality applying to such information.
(d) Disclosure of business transactions, market positions, trade
secrets, or names of customers
The Commission shall not disclose in such reports data and
information which would separately disclose the business transactions or
market positions of any person and trade secrets or names of customers
except as provided in section 12 of this title.
(e) Application
This section shall not apply to investigations involving any
security underlying a security futures product.
(Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 369, Sec. 16, as added Pub. L. 93-463, title IV,
Sec. 414, Oct. 23, 1974, 88 Stat. 1414; amended Pub. L. 97-444, title
II, Sec. 232, Jan. 11, 1983, 96 Stat. 2320; Pub. L. 106-554,
Sec. 1(a)(5) [title II, Sec. 251(e)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763,
2763A-443.)
Amendments
2000--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106-554 added subsec. (e).
1983--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97-444 prohibited disclosure of market
positions.
Effective Date of 1983 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97-444 effective Jan. 11, 1983, see section 239
of Pub. L. 97-444, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.
Effective Date
For effective date of section, see section 418 of Pub. L. 93-463,
set out as an Effective Date of 1974 Amendment note under section 2 of
this title.
Study of Trading in Cattle Futures Contracts
Pub. L. 99-641, title I, Sec. 111, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3561,
provided that:
``(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct and complete a comprehensive study of the effect of trading in
contracts for the future delivery of live cattle on the cash market
price of live cattle, with particular emphasis on--
``(1) whether the reaction of the live cattle futures market to
the results of the milk production termination program in March
1986, conducted under section 201(d)(3) of the Agricultural Act of
1949 (7 U.S.C. 1446(d)(3)), was based on and accurately reflected
the then prevailing conditions of supply and demand;
``(2) the effect of the trading in contracts for the future
delivery of live cattle on--
``(i) the price relationship between feeder cattle and fed
cattle;
``(ii) the price discovery process with respect to live
cattle; and
``(iii) price competition within the cattle industry;
``(3) the effect of the use of packer contracts, as a means of
obtaining slaughter cattle, on the increase in short hedging in
contracts for the future delivery of live cattle and the effect of
this increase in short hedging on prices in the futures and cash
markets;
``(4) the effect on the ability of the cash markets to
accurately reflect prevailing conditions of supply and demand if
packer contracts become the prevalent method of marketing fed
cattle;
``(5) whether the present delivery system for contracts for the
future delivery of live cattle creates any bias (either upward or
downward) in the cash price for cattle;
``(6) whether the present delivery system for contracts for the
future delivery of live cattle creates price volatility during the
delivery month; and
``(7) whether there are advantages or disadvantages to a cash
settlement system in lieu of the present delivery system in the case
of contracts for the future delivery of live cattle.
``(b) Reports.--
``(1) Preliminary report.--Not later than January 15, 1987, the
Comptroller General shall submit a preliminary report on the results
of the study required under subsection (a) to the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
``(2) Final report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act [Nov. 10, 1986], the Comptroller General shall
submit to such committees a detailed final report of the results of
the study required under subsection (a).''
Potato Futures Study; Submission of Report to Congress
Pub. L. 95-405, Sec. 27, Sept. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 877, required,
within one year of Oct. 1, 1978, Secretary of Agriculture to (1) conduct
a comprehensive study of marketing of Irish potatoes and of making and
trading of contracts of sale for future delivery of Irish potatoes,
including rules and regulations pertaining to such trading issued by
Commodity Futures Trading Commission or any contract market designated
by Commission; and (2) submit to each House of Congress a detailed
report on results of such study, and that report should also include any
proposals Secretary may have concerning any legislation needed to
implement such recommendations and concerning any modifications and
rules and regulations needed to improve regulation of such contracts by
Commission or any contract market designated by Commission.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 6f, 6k, 7b-1 of this title.
