15 U.S.C. § 2078: Cooperation with States and other Federal agencies

accept from any State or local authorities engaged in activities relating to health, safety, or consumer protection assistance in such functions as injury data collection, investigation, and educational programs, as well as other assistance in the administration and enforcement of this chapter which such States or localities may be able and willing to provide and, if so agreed, may pay in advance or otherwise for the reasonable cost of such assistance, and commission any qualified officer or employee of any State or local agency as an officer of the Commission for the purpose of conducting examinations, investigations, and inspections. In determining whether such proposed State and local programs are appropriate in implementing the purposes of this chapter, the Commission shall give favorable consideration to programs which establish separate State and local agencies to consolidate functions relating to product safety and other consumer protection activities. The Commission may obtain from any Federal department or agency such statistics, data, program reports, and other materials as it may deem necessary to carry out its functions under this chapter. Each such department or agency may cooperate with the Commission and, to the extent permitted by law, furnish such materials to it. The Commission and the heads of other departments and agencies engaged in administering programs related to product safety shall, to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate and consult in order to insure fully coordinated efforts. The Commission shall, to the maximum extent practicable, utilize the resources and facilities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, on a reimbursable basis, to perform research and analyses related to risks of injury associated with consumer products (including fire and flammability risks), to develop test methods, to conduct studies and investigations, and to provide technical advice and assistance in connection with the functions of the Commission. any copy of any such report, or any information contained in any such report, the agency has set forth a bona fide legal basis for its authority to maintain the material in confidence; laws regulating the manufacture, importation, distribution, or sale of defective or unsafe consumer products, or other practices substantially similar to practices prohibited by any law administered by the Commission; a law administered by the Commission, if disclosure of the material would further a Commission investigation or enforcement proceeding; or with respect to a foreign law enforcement agency, with the approval of the Attorney General, other foreign criminal laws, if such foreign criminal laws are offenses defined in or covered by a criminal mutual legal assistance treaty in force between the government of the United States and the foreign law enforcement agency’s government; and in the case of a foreign government agency, such agency is not from a foreign state that the Secretary of State has determined, in accordance with section 4605(j) 1 of title 50, has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, unless and until such determination is rescinded pursuant to section 4605(j)(4) 1 See References in Text note below. 1 of title 50. The Commission may abrogate any agreement or memorandum of understanding with another agency if the Commission determines that the other agency has failed to maintain in confidence any information provided under such agreement or memorandum of understanding, or has used any such information for purposes other than those set forth in such agreement or memorandum of understanding. any material obtained from a foreign government agency, if the foreign government agency has requested confidential treatment, or has precluded such disclosure under other use limitations, as a condition of providing the material; any material reflecting a consumer complaint obtained from any other foreign source, if that foreign source supplying the material has requested confidential treatment as a condition of providing the material; or any material reflecting a consumer complaint submitted to a Commission reporting mechanism sponsored in part by foreign government agencies. Nothing in this subsection authorizes the Commission to withhold information from the Congress or prevent the Commission from complying with an order of a court of the United States in an action commenced by the United States or the Commission. any agency or judicial authority of a foreign government, including a foreign state, a political subdivision of a foreign state, or a multinational organization constituted by and comprised of foreign states, that is vested with law enforcement or investigative authority in civil, criminal, or administrative matters; and any multinational organization, to the extent that it is acting on behalf of an entity described in subparagraph (A). Whenever the Commission is notified of any voluntary corrective action taken by a manufacturer (or a retailer in the case of a retailer selling a product under its own label) in consultation with the Commission, or issues an order under section 2064(c) or (d) of this title with respect to any product, the Commission shall notify each State’s health department (or other agency designated by the State) of such voluntary corrective action or order.