TITLE 49 - US CODE - CHAPTER 323 - CONSUMER INFORMATION

49 USC 32301 - Definitions

In this chapter
(1) crashworthiness means the protection a passenger motor vehicle gives its passengers against personal injury or death from a motor vehicle accident.
(2) damage susceptibility means the susceptibility of a passenger motor vehicle to damage in a motor vehicle accident.

49 USC 32302 - Passenger motor vehicle information

(a) Information Program.— 
The Secretary of Transportation shall maintain a program for developing the following information on passenger motor vehicles:
(1) damage susceptibility.
(2) crashworthiness.
(3) the degree of difficulty of diagnosis and repair of damage to, or failure of, mechanical and electrical systems.
(4) vehicle operating costs dependent on the characteristics referred to in clauses (1)(3) of this subsection, including insurance information obtained under section 32303 of this title.
(b) Motor Vehicle Information.— 
To assist a consumer in buying a passenger motor vehicle, the Secretary shall provide to the public information developed under subsection (a) of this section. The information shall be in a simple and understandable form that allows comparison of the characteristics referred to in subsection (a)(1)(3) of this section among the makes and models of passenger motor vehicles. The Secretary may require passenger motor vehicle dealers to distribute the information to prospective buyers.
(c) Insurance Cost Information.— 
The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that require passenger motor vehicle dealers to distribute to prospective buyers information the Secretary develops and provides to the dealers that compares insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger motor vehicles based on damage susceptibility and crashworthiness.

49 USC 32303 - Insurance information

(a) General Reports and Information Requirements.— 

(1) In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary of Transportation may require an insurer, or a designated agent of the insurer, to make reports and provide the Secretary with information. The reports and information may include accident claim information by make, model, and model year of passenger motor vehicle about the kind and extent of
(A) physical damage and repair costs; and
(B) personal injury.
(2) In deciding which reports and information are to be provided under this subsection, the Secretary shall
(A) consider the cost of preparing and providing the reports and information;
(B) consider the extent to which the reports and information will contribute to carrying out this chapter; and
(C) consult with State authorities and public and private agencies the Secretary considers appropriate.
(3) To the extent possible, the Secretary shall obtain reports and information under this subsection on a voluntary basis.
(b) Requested Information on Crashworthiness, Damage Susceptibility, and Repair and Personal Injury Cost.— 
When requested by the Secretary, an insurer shall give the Secretary information
(1) about the extent to which the insurance premiums charged by the insurer are affected by damage susceptibility, crashworthiness, and the cost of repair and personal injury, for each make and model of passenger motor vehicle; and
(2) available to the insurer about the effect of damage susceptibility, crashworthiness, and the cost of repair and personal injury for each make and model of passenger motor vehicle on the risk incurred by the insurer in insuring that make and model.
(c) Disclosure.— 
In distributing information received under this section, the Secretary may disclose identifying information about a person that may be an insured, a claimant, a passenger, an owner, a witness, or an individual involved in a motor vehicle accident, only with the consent of the person.

49 USC 32304 - Passenger motor vehicle country of origin labeling

(a) Definitions.— 
In this section
(1) allied supplier means a supplier of passenger motor vehicle equipment that is wholly owned by the manufacturer, or if a joint venture vehicle assembly arrangement, a supplier that is wholly owned by one member of the joint venture arrangement.
(2) 
(A) carline
(i) means a name given a group of passenger motor vehicles that has a degree of commonality in construction such as body and chassis;
(ii) does not consider a level of decor or opulence; and
(iii) except for light duty trucks, is not generally distinguished by characteristics such as roof line, number of doors, seats, or windows; and
(B) light duty trucks are different carlines than passenger motor vehicles.
(3) country of origin, when referring to the origin of an engine or transmission, means the country from which the largest share of the dollar value added to an engine or transmission has originated
(A) with the United States and Canada treated as separate countries; and
(B) the estimate of the percentage of the dollar value shall be based on the purchase price of direct materials, as received at individual engine or transmission plants, of engines of the same displacement and transmissions of the same transmission type, plus the assembly and labor costs incurred for the final assembly of such engines and transmissions.
(4) dealer means a person residing or located in the United States, including the District of Columbia or a territory or possession of the United States, and engaged in selling or distributing new passenger motor vehicles to the ultimate purchaser.
(5) final assembly place means the plant, factory, or other place at which a new passenger motor vehicle is produced or assembled by a manufacturer, and from which the vehicle is delivered to a dealer or importer with all component parts necessary for the mechanical operation of the vehicle included with the vehicle, whether or not the component parts are permanently installed in or on the vehicle. Such term does not include facilities for engine and transmission fabrication and assembly and the facilities for fabrication of motor vehicle equipment component parts which are produced at the same final assembly place using forming processes such as stamping, machining, or molding processes.
(6) foreign content means passenger motor vehicle equipment that is not of United States/Canadian origin.
(7) manufacturer means a person
(A) engaged in manufacturing or assembling new passenger motor vehicles;
(B) importing new passenger motor vehicles for resale; or
(C) acting for and under the control of such a manufacturer, assembler, or importer in connection with the distribution of new passenger motor vehicles.
(8) new passenger motor vehicle means a passenger motor vehicle for which a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer has never transferred the equitable or legal title to the vehicle to an ultimate purchaser.
(9) of United States/Canadian origin, when referring to passenger motor vehicle equipment, means
(A) for an outside supplier
(i) the full purchase price of passenger motor vehicle equipment whose purchase price contains at least 70 percent value added in the United States and Canada; or
(ii) that portion of the purchase price of passenger motor vehicle equipment containing less than 70 percent value added in the United States and Canada that is attributable to the percent value added in the United States and Canada when such percent is expressed to the nearest 5 percent; and
(B) for an allied supplier, that part of the individual passenger motor vehicle equipment whose purchase price the manufacturer determines remains after subtracting the total of the purchase prices of all material of foreign content purchased from outside suppliers, with the determination of the United States/Canadian origin or of the foreign content from outside suppliers being consistent with subclause (A) of this clause.
(10) outside supplier means a supplier of passenger motor vehicle equipment to a manufacturers allied supplier, or a person other than an allied supplier, who ships directly to the manufacturers final assembly place.
(11) passenger motor vehicle has the same meaning given that term in section 32101 (10) of this title, except that it includes any multi-purpose vehicle or light duty truck when that vehicle or truck is rated at not more than 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight.
(12) passenger motor vehicle equipment
(A) means a system, subassembly, or component received at the final vehicle assembly place for installation on, or attachment to, a passenger motor vehicle at the time of its first shipment by the manufacturer to a dealer for sale to an ultimate purchaser; but
(B) does not include minor parts (including nuts, bolts, clips, screws, pins, braces, and other attachment hardware) and other similar items the Secretary of Transportation may prescribe by regulation after consulting with manufacturers and labor.
(13) percentage (by value), when referring to passenger motor vehicle equipment of United States/Canadian origin, means the percentage remaining after subtracting the percentage (by value) of passenger motor vehicle equipment that is not of United States/Canadian origin that will be installed or included on those vehicles produced in a carline, from 100 percent
(A) with value being expressed in terms of the purchase price; and
(B) for outside suppliers and allied suppliers, the value used is the purchase price of the equipment paid at the final assembly place.
(14) State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.
(15) value added in the United States and Canada means a percentage determined by subtracting the total purchase price of foreign content from the total purchase price, and dividing the remainder by the total purchase price, excluding costs incurred or profits made at the final assembly place and beyond (including advertising, assembly, labor, interest payments, and profits), with the following groupings being used:
(A) engines of same displacement produced at the same plant.
(B) transmissions of the same type produced at the same plant.
(b) Manufacturer Requirement.— 

(1) Each manufacturer of a new passenger motor vehicle manufactured after September 30, 1994, and distributed in commerce for sale in the United States, shall establish each year for each model year and cause to be attached in a prominent place on each of those vehicles, at least one label. The label shall contain the following information:
(A) the percentage (by value) of passenger motor vehicle equipment of United States/Canadian origin installed on vehicles in the carline to which that vehicle belongs, identified by the words U.S./Canadian content.
(B) the final assembly place for that vehicle by city, State (where appropriate) and country.
(C) if at least 15 percent (by value) of equipment installed on passenger motor vehicles in a carline originated in any country other than the United States and Canada, the names of at least the 2 countries in which the greatest amount (by value) of that equipment originated and the percentage (by value) of the equipment originating in each country.
(D) the country of origin of the engine and the transmission for each vehicle.
(2) At the beginning of each model year, each manufacturer shall establish the percentages required for each carline to be indicated on the label under this subsection. Those percentages are applicable to that carline for the entire model year. A manufacturer may round those percentages to the nearest 5 percent.
(3) A manufacturer complying with the requirement of paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection satisfies the disclosure requirement of section 3(b) of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1232 (b)).
(c) Vehicle Content Percentage by Assembly Plant.— 
A manufacturer may display separately on the label required by subsection (b) the domestic content of a vehicle based on the assembly plant. Such display shall occur after the matter required to be in the label by subsection (b)(1)(A).
(d) Value Added Determination.— 
If a manufacturer or allied supplier requests information in a timely manner from one or more of its outside suppliers concerning the United States/Canadian content of particular equipment, but does not receive that information despite a good faith effort to obtain it, the manufacturer or allied supplier may make its own good faith value added determinations, subject to the following:
(1) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall make the same value added determinations as would be made by the outside supplier, that is, whether 70 percent or more of the value of equipment is added in the United States and/or Canada.
(2) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall consider the amount of value added and the location in which the value was added for all of the stages that the outside supplier would be required to consider.
(3) The manufacturer or allied supplier may determine that the value added in the United States and/or Canada is 70 percent or more only if it has a good faith basis to make that determination.
(4) A manufacturer and its allied suppliers may, on a combined basis, make value added determinations for no more than 10 percent, by value, of a carlines total parts content from outside suppliers.
(5) Value added determinations made by a manufacturer or allied supplier under this paragraph shall have the same effect as if they were made by the outside supplier.
(6) This provision does not affect the obligation of outside suppliers to provide the requested information.
(e) Small Parts.— 
The country of origin of nuts, bolts, clips, screws, pins, braces, gasoline, oil, blackout, phosphate rinse, windshield washer fluid, fasteners, tire assembly fluid, rivets, adhesives, and grommets, of any system, subassembly, or component installed in a vehicle shall be considered to be the country in which such parts were included in the final assembly of such vehicle.
(f) Dealer Requirement.— 
Each dealer engaged in the sale or distribution of a new passenger motor vehicle manufactured after September 30, 1994, shall cause to be maintained on that vehicle the label required to be attached to that vehicle under subsection (b) of this section.
(g) Form and Content of Label.— 
The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe by regulation the form and content of the label required under subsection (b) of this section and the manner and location in which the label is attached. The Secretary shall permit a manufacturer to comply with this section by allowing the manufacturer to disclose the information required under subsection (b)(1) on the label required by section 3 of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1232), on the label required by section 32908 of this title, or on a separate label that is readily visible. A manufacturer may add to the label required under subsection (b) a line stating the country in which vehicle assembly was completed.
(h) Regulations.— 
In consultation with the Secretaries of Commerce and the Treasury, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations necessary to carry out this section, including regulations establishing a procedure to verify the label information required under subsection (b)(1) of this section. Those regulations shall provide the ultimate purchaser of a new passenger motor vehicle with the best and most understandable information possible about the foreign content and United States/Canadian origin of the equipment of the vehicles without imposing costly and unnecessary burdens on the manufacturers. The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe the regulations promptly to provide adequate lead time for each manufacturer to comply with this section. The regulations shall include provisions applicable to outside suppliers and allied suppliers to require those suppliers to certify whether passenger motor vehicle equipment provided by those suppliers is of United States origin, of United States/Canadian origin, or of foreign content and to provide other information the Secretary of Transportation decides is necessary to allow each manufacturer to comply reasonably with this section and to rely on that certification and information.
(i) Preemption.— 

(1) When a label content requirement prescribed under this section is in effect, a State or a political subdivision of a State may not adopt or enforce a law or regulation related to the content of vehicles covered by a requirement under this section.
(2) A State or a political subdivision of a State may prescribe requirements related to the content of passenger motor vehicles obtained for its own use.

49 USC 32304A - Consumer tire information

(a) Rulemaking.— 

(1) In general.— 
Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of the Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall, after notice and opportunity for comment, promulgate rules establishing a national tire fuel efficiency consumer information program for replacement tires designed for use on motor vehicles to educate consumers about the effect of tires on automobile fuel efficiency, safety, and durability.
(2) Items included in rule.— 
The rulemaking shall include
(A) a national tire fuel efficiency rating system for motor vehicle replacement tires to assist consumers in making more educated tire purchasing decisions;
(B) requirements for providing information to consumers, including information at the point of sale and other potential information dissemination methods, including the Internet;
(C) specifications for test methods for manufacturers to use in assessing and rating tires to avoid variation among test equipment and manufacturers; and
(D) a national tire maintenance consumer education program including,[1] information on tire inflation pressure, alignment, rotation, and tread wear to maximize fuel efficiency, safety, and durability of replacement tires.
(3) Applicability.— 
This section shall apply only to replacement tires covered under section 575.104(c) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, in effect on the date of the enactment of the Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act.
(b) Consultation.— 
The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on the means of conveying tire fuel efficiency consumer information.
(c) Report to Congress.— 
The Secretary shall conduct periodic assessments of the rules promulgated under this section to determine the utility of such rules to consumers, the level of cooperation by industry, and the contribution to national goals pertaining to energy consumption. The Secretary shall transmit periodic reports detailing the findings of such assessments to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.
(d) Tire Marking.— 
The Secretary shall not require permanent labeling of any kind on a tire for the purpose of tire fuel efficiency information.
(e) Application With State and Local Laws and Regulations.— 
Nothing in this section prohibits a State or political subdivision thereof from enforcing a law or regulation on tire fuel efficiency consumer information that was in effect on January 1, 2006. After a requirement promulgated under this section is in effect, a State or political subdivision thereof may adopt or enforce a law or regulation on tire fuel efficiency consumer information enacted or promulgated after January 1, 2006, if the requirements of that law or regulation are identical to the requirement promulgated under this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt a State or political subdivision thereof from regulating the fuel efficiency of tires (including establishing testing methods for determining compliance with such standards) not otherwise preempted under this chapter.
[1] So in original. Probably should be “, including”.

49 USC 32305 - Information and assistance from other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities

(a) Authority To Request.— 
The Secretary of Transportation may request information necessary to carry out this chapter from a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government. The head of the department, agency, or instrumentality shall provide the information.
(b) Detailing Personnel.— 
The head of a department, agency, or instrumentality may detail, on a reimbursable basis, personnel to assist the Secretary in carrying out this chapter.

49 USC 32306 - Personnel

(a) General Authority.— 
In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary of Transportation may
(1) appoint and fix the pay of employees without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointment in the competitive service and chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5; and
(2) make contracts with persons for research and preparation of reports.
(b) Status of Advisory Committee Members.— 
A member of an advisory committee appointed under section 325 of this title to carry out this chapter is a special United States Government employee under chapter 11 of title 18.

49 USC 32307 - Investigative powers

(a) General Authority.— 
In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary of Transportation may
(1) inspect and copy records of any person at reasonable times;
(2) order a person to file written reports or answers to specific questions, including reports or answers under oath; and
(3) conduct hearings, administer oaths, take testimony, and require (by subpena or otherwise) the appearance and testimony of witnesses and the production of records the Secretary considers advisable.
(b) Witness Fees and Mileage.— 
A witness summoned under subsection (a) of this section is entitled to the same fee and mileage the witness would have been paid in a court of the United States.
(c) Civil Actions To Enforce.— 
A civil action to enforce a subpena or order of the Secretary under subsection (a) of this section may be brought in the United States district court for the judicial district in which the proceeding by the Secretary is conducted. The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to comply with the subpena or order of the Secretary as a contempt of court.
(d) Confidentiality of Information.— 
Information obtained by the Secretary under this section related to a confidential matter referred to in section 1905 of title 18 may be disclosed only to another officer or employee of the United States Government for use in carrying out this chapter. This subsection does not authorize information to be withheld from a committee of Congress authorized to have the information.

49 USC 32308 - General prohibitions, civil penalty, and enforcement

(a) Prohibitions.— 
A person may not
(1) fail to provide the Secretary of Transportation with information requested by the Secretary in carrying out this chapter; or
(2) fail to comply with applicable regulations prescribed by the Secretary in carrying out this chapter.
(b) Civil Penalty.— 

(1) A person that violates subsection (a) of this section is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation. Each failure to provide information or comply with a regulation in violation of subsection (a) is a separate violation. The maximum penalty under this subsection for a related series of violations is $400,000.
(2) The Secretary may compromise the amount of a civil penalty imposed under this section.
(3) In determining the amount of a penalty or compromise, the appropriateness of the penalty or compromise to the size of the business of the person charged and the gravity of the violation shall be considered.
(4) The Government may deduct the amount of a civil penalty imposed or compromised under this section from amounts it owes the person liable for the penalty.
(c) Section 32304A.— 
Any person who fails to comply with the national tire fuel efficiency information program under section 32304A is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for each violation.
(d) Civil Actions To Enforce.— 

(1) The Attorney General may bring a civil action in a United States district court to enjoin a violation of subsection (a) of this section.
(2) When practicable, the Secretary shall
(A) notify a person against whom an action under this subsection is planned;
(B) give the person an opportunity to present that persons views; and
(C) give the person a reasonable opportunity to comply.
(3) The failure of the Secretary to comply with paragraph (2) of this subsection does not prevent a court from granting appropriate relief.
(e) Venue and Service.— 
A civil action under this section may be brought in the judicial district in which the violation occurred or the defendant is found, resides, or does business. Process in the action may be served in any other judicial district in which the defendant resides or is found. A subpena for a witness in the action may be served in any judicial district.

49 USC 32309 - Civil penalty for labeling violations

(a) Definitions.— 
The definitions in section 32304 of this title apply to this section.
(b) Penalties.— 
A manufacturer of a passenger motor vehicle distributed in commerce for sale in the United States that willfully fails to attach the label required under section 32304 of this title to a new passenger motor vehicle that the manufacturer manufactures or imports, or a dealer that fails to maintain that label as required under section 32304, is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation. Each failure to attach or maintain that label for each vehicle is a separate violation.