§ 41310 — Discriminatory Practices

(a) An air carrier or foreign air carrier may not subject a person, place, port, or type of traffic in foreign air transportation to unreasonable discrimination. (1) The Secretary of Transportation shall survey charges imposed on an air carrier by the government of a foreign country or another foreign entity for the use of airport property or airway property in foreign air transportation. If the Secretary of Transportation decides that a charge is discriminatory, the Secretary promptly shall report the decision to the Secretary of State. The Secretaries of State and Transportation promptly shall begin negotiations with the appropriate government to end the discrimination. If the discrimination is not ended in a reasonable time through negotiation, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish a compensating charge equal to the discriminatory charge. With the approval of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury shall impose the compensating charge on a foreign air carrier of that country as a condition to accepting the general declaration of the aircraft of the foreign air carrier when it lands or takes off. (2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall maintain an account to credit money collected under paragraph (1) of this subsection. An air carrier shall be paid from the account an amount certified by the Secretary of Transportation to compensate the air carrier for the discriminatory charge paid to the government. (1) The Secretary of Transportation may take actions the Secretary considers are in the public interest to eliminate an activity of a government of a foreign country or another foreign entity, including a foreign air carrier, when the Secretary, on the initiative of the Secretary or on complaint, decides that the activity— (A) is an unjustifiable or unreasonable discriminatory, predatory, or anticompetitive practice against an air carrier; or (B) imposes an unjustifiable or unreasonable restriction on access of an air carrier to a foreign market. (2) The Secretary of Transportation may deny, amend, modify, suspend, revoke, or transfer under paragraph (1) of this subsection a foreign air carrier permit or tariff under section 41302, 41303, 41304(a), 41504(c), 41507, or 41509 of this title. (1) An air carrier, computer reservations system firm, or a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government may file a complaint under subsection (c) or (g) of this section with the Secretary of Transportation. The Secretary shall approve, deny, or dismiss the complaint, set the complaint for a hearing or investigation, or begin another proceeding proposing remedial action not later than 60 days after receiving the complaint. The Secretary may extend the period for acting for additional periods totaling not more than 30 days if the Secretary decides that with additional time it is likely that a complaint can be resolved satisfactorily through negotiations with the government of the foreign country or foreign entity. The Secretary must act not later than 90 days after receiving the complaint. However, the Secretary may extend this 90-day period for not more than an additional 90 days if, on the last day of the initial 90-day period, the Secretary finds that— (A) negotiations with the government have progressed to a point that a satisfactory resolution of the complaint appears imminent; (B) an air carrier or computer reservations system firm has not been subjected to economic injury by the government or entity as a result of filing the complaint; and (C) the public interest requires additional time before the Secretary acts on the complaint. (2) In carrying out paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall— (A) solicit the views of the Secretaries of Commerce and State and the United States Trade Representative; (B) give an affected air carrier or foreign air carrier reasonable notice and an opportunity to submit written evidence and arguments within the time limits of this subsection; and (C) submit to the President under section 41307 or 41509(f) of this title actions proposed by the Secretary of Transportation. (1) The Secretaries of State, the Treasury, and Transportation and the heads of other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government shall keep under review, to the extent of each of their jurisdictions, each form of discrimination or unfair competitive practice to which an air carrier is subject when providing foreign air transportation or a computer reservations system firm is subject when providing services with respect to airline service. Each Secretary and head shall— (A) take appropriate action to eliminate any discrimination or unfair competitive practice found to exist; and (B) request Congress to enact legislation when the authority to eliminate the discrimination or unfair practice is inadequate. (2) The Secretary of Transportation shall report to Congress annually on each action taken under paragraph (1) of this subsection and on the continuing program to eliminate discrimination and unfair competitive practices. The Secretaries of State and the Treasury each shall give the Secretary of Transportation information necessary to prepare the report. (f) Not later than 30 days after acting on a complaint under this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on action taken under this section on the complaint. (g) The Secretary of Transportation may take such actions as the Secretary considers are in the public interest to eliminate an activity of a foreign air carrier that owns or markets a computer reservations system, or of a computer reservations system firm whose principal offices are located outside the United States, when the Secretary, on the initiative of the Secretary or on complaint, decides that the activity, with respect to airline service— (1) is an unjustifiable or unreasonable discriminatory, predatory, or anticompetitive practice against a computer reservations system firm whose principal offices are located inside the United States; or (2) imposes an unjustifiable or unreasonable restriction on access of such a computer reservations system to a foreign market.