1494.601—Acceptance of offers by CCC.
(a) Establishment of acceptable sales prices and CCC bonuses.
For each Invitation, CCC will establish sales prices for the eligible commodity and CCC bonus amounts which would be acceptable to CCC in terms of furthering the objectives of the EEP.
(1)
In establishing acceptable sales prices for the eligible commodity, CCC will consider available relevant market data.
(2)
In determining acceptable CCC bonus amounts, CCC may take into consideration factors such as, but not limited to, the following: The prevailing domestic market price of the eligible commodity; the price of the same agricultural commodity exported by other exporting countries to the eligible country; ocean freight rates for the export of the eligible commodity from the U.S. and other exporting countries to the eligible country; the particular preferences or purchasing practices of buyers in the eligible country which would customarily affect the acceptability of the eligible commodity relative to that of competing exports of the same agricultural commodity to the eligible country from other exporting countries; and the cost effectiveness of the payment of a CCC bonus amount in view of CCC's obligation to maximize the use of resources available for the operation of the EEP.
(3)
The acceptable sales prices and bonus amounts will be modified by CCC as necessary to take advantage of updated information that becomes available to CCC.
(b) Acceptance of offers for a CCC bonus on a competitive basis.
An offer from an eligible exporter for a CCC bonus on a competitive bonus that meets all of the requirements of this subpart will first be reviewed to determine if the offer contains an acceptable sales price. If the sales price contained in the offer is found to be acceptable, then the CCC bonus contained in the offer will be reviewed to determine if the CCC bonus requested is found to be acceptable. Offers with acceptable sales prices and acceptable CCC bonuses will be accepted under each Invitation beginning with the offer having the lowest CCC bonus amount, subject to the limitations in paragraphs (f) and (h) of this section.
(c) Acceptance of offers for an announced CCC bonus.
Offers from eligible exporters for an Announced CCC Bonus that meet all of the requirements of this subpart and which contain an acceptable sales price will be accepted under each Invitation on a first-come, first-served basis according to the time of receipt of the offer, as determined by CCC, subject to the limitations in paragraphs (f) and (h) of this section.
(d) Notification of acceptance of offers.
CCC will notify an eligible exporter by telephone of the acceptance or rejection of its offer as soon as possible after review of the exporter's offer by CCC but not later than 10 a.m. of the next business day after the date the offer was submitted for consideration. If an offer is rejected, CCC will notify the eligible exporter of the basis for the rejection. Acceptance of offers will be confirmed in writing. The date of the telephonic notification of acceptance by CCC of the eligible exporter's offer will be the effective date of the exporter's Agreement with CCC.
(e) Announcement of acceptance of offers.
CCC will generally announce the acceptance of offers by public press release as soon as possible after the notification to the exporter. The announcement will generally include the eligible commodity, the eligible country, the exporter, the delivery period, the CCC bonus, and, if applicable, the class of the eligible commodity.
(f) Limitation on acceptance of offers.
The total quantity of the eligible commodity, exclusive of tolerances, to be exported under all offers that are accepted by CCC pursuant to a particular Invitation will not be greater than the total quantity of the eligible commodity stated in such Invitation. CCC may refuse to accept further offers under an applicable Invitation if the quantity of the eligible commodity, exclusive of tolerances, already accepted totals the quantity, exclusive of tolerances, that is being tendered for by the eligible buyer, even though such quantity may be less than the total quantity available under that Invitation.
(g) Rejection of offers.
Any offer or part of an offer submitted for consideration that is not accepted by CCC by 10 a.m. of the next business day after the date for which the offer was submitted for consideration will be deemed to have been rejected.
(h) CCC's right of rejection.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subpart, CCC reserves the right to reject any or all offers submitted for consideration on a particular day, including those offers that have acceptable sales prices and CCC bonus amounts.