SUBCHAPTER IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Part A—Program Controls
§5661. Program controls for export programs
(a) Arrival certification
With respect to a commodity provided, or for which financing or a credit guarantee or other assistance is made available, under a program authorized in
(b) Diversion
The unauthorized diversion of commodities under the programs authorized in
(c) Good faith
The failure of an exporter, seller or other person to comply with the provisions of this section shall not affect the validity of any credit guarantee or other obligation of the Commodity Credit Corporation under the programs under this chapter with respect to any exporter, seller, or person who had no knowledge of such failure to comply at the time such exporter, seller, or person was assigned the credit guarantee or at the time the Corporation entered into such obligation.
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Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
A prior section 401 of
Amendments
2008—Subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b).
1996—Subsec. (a).
"(1) require the exporter to maintain records of an official or customary commercial nature or other documents as the Secretary may require, and have access to such documents or records as needed to verify the arrival of agricultural commodities exported in connection with such programs in the countries that were the intended destination of such commodities; and
"(2) obtain certification from the seller or exporter of record of such commodities, that there were no corrupt payments or extra sales services, or other items extraneous to the transaction provided, financed, or guaranteed in connection with the transaction, and that the transaction complied with applicable United States law."
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Amendment by
§5662. Compliance provisions
(a) Records
(1) In general
In the administration of the programs established under
(2) Confidentiality
The personally identifiable information contained in reports under subsection (a) may be withheld in accordance with
(b) Violation
If any exporter, assignee, or other participant has engaged in fraud with respect to the programs authorized under this chapter, or has otherwise violated program requirements under this chapter, the Commodity Credit Corporation may—
(1) hold such exporter, assignee, or participant liable for any and all losses to the Corporation resulting from such fraud or violation;
(2) require a refund of any assistance provided to such exporter, assignee, or participant plus interest, as determined by the Secretary; and
(3) collect liquidated damages from such exporter, assignee, or participant in an amount determined appropriate by the Secretary.
The provisions of this subsection shall be without prejudice to any other remedy that is available under any other provision of law.
(c) Suspension and debarment
The Commodity Credit Corporation may suspend or debar for 1 or more years any exporter, assignee, or other participant from participation in one or more of the programs authorized by this chapter if the Corporation determines, after opportunity for a hearing, that such exporter, assignee, or other participant has violated the terms and conditions of the program or of this chapter and that the violation is of such a nature as to warrant suspension or debarment.
(d) False certifications
The provisions of
(
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a)(1).
2008—Subsec. (a)(1).
1996—Subsec. (a)(2), (3).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Amendment by
§5663. Departmental administration system
(a) In general
With respect to each commercial export promotion program of the Department of Agriculture or the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall—
(1) specify by regulation the criteria used to evaluate and approve proposals for that program;
(2) establish a centralized system to permit the Foreign Agricultural Service to provide the history and current status of any proposal;
(3) provide for regular audits of program transactions to determine compliance with program objectives and requirements; and
(4) establish criteria to evaluate loans eligible for guarantees by the Commodity Credit Corporation, so as to ensure that the Corporation does not assume undue risk in providing such guarantees.
(b) Accessibility of information
Information pertaining to the status of a particular proposal shall be retrievable within the central system by appropriate categories, as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
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§5664. Repealed. Pub. L. 104–127, title II, §248, Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 969
Section,
Part B—Miscellaneous Provisions
§5671. Agricultural embargo protection
(a) Prerequisites; scope of compensation
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if—
(1) the President or other member of the executive branch of the Federal Government causes the export of any agricultural commodity to any country or area of the world to be suspended or restricted for reasons of national security or foreign policy under the Export Administration Act of 1979 (
(2) such suspension or restriction of the export of such agricultural commodity is imposed other than in connection with a suspension or restriction of all exports from the United States to such country or area of the world; and
(3) sales of such agricultural commodity for export from the United States to such country or area of the world during the year preceding the year in which the suspension or restriction is imposed exceeds 3 percent of the total sales of such commodity for export from the United States to all foreign countries during the year preceding the year in which the suspension or restriction is in effect;
the Secretary shall compensate producers of the commodity involved by making payments available to such producers, as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Amount of payments
If the Secretary makes payments available to producers under subsection (a), the amount of such payment shall be determined—
(1) in the case of an agricultural commodity for which payments are authorized to be made to producers under Title I of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (
(A) the farm program payment yield for the producer or the yield established for the farm for the commodity involved; by
(B) the crop acreage base established for the commodity; by
(C) the amount by which the average market price per unit of such commodity received by producers during the 60-day period immediately following the date of the imposition of the suspension or restriction is less than 100 percent of the parity price for such commodity, as determined by the Secretary on the date of the imposition of the suspension or restriction; or
(2) in the case of other agricultural commodities for which price support is authorized for producers under the Agricultural Act of 1949 (
(c) Time for payments
Payments under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) shall be made for each marketing year or part thereof during which the suspension or restriction is in effect and shall be made in equal amounts at 90-day intervals, beginning 90 days after the date of the imposition of the suspension or restriction.
(d) Commodity Credit Corporation
The Secretary shall use the Commodity Credit Corporation in carrying out the provisions of this section.
(e) Regulations
The Secretary may issue such regulations as are determined necessary to carry out this section.
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Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Export Administration Act of 1979, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is
The Agricultural Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), (2), is act Oct. 31, 1949, ch. 792,
1 See References in Text note below.
§5672. Development of plans to alleviate adverse impact of embargoes
To alleviate, to the maximum extent possible, the adverse impact on farmers, elevator operators, common carriers, and exporters of agricultural commodities of the President or other member of the executive branch of the Federal Government causing the export of any agricultural commodity to any country or area of the world to be suspended or restricted, the Secretary of Agriculture shall—
(1) develop a comprehensive contingency plan that shall include—
(A) an assessment of existing farm programs with a view to determining whether such programs are sufficiently flexible to enable the Secretary to efficiently and effectively offset the adverse impact of such a suspension or restriction on farmers, elevator operators, common carriers, and exporters of commodities provided for under such programs;
(B) an evaluation of the kinds and availability of information needed to determine, on an emergency basis, the extent and severity of the impact of such a suspension or restriction on producers, elevator operators, common carriers, and exporters; and
(C) the development of criteria for determining the extent, if any, to which the impact of such a suspension or restriction should be offset in the case of each of the sectors referred to in paragraph (1)(B);
(2) for any suspension or restriction for which compensation is not provided under
(3) for any suspension or restriction for which compensation is provided under
(4) require the Commodity Credit Corporation, prior to such Corporation purchasing any contracts for the purpose of offsetting the impact of a commodity suspension or restriction, to—
(A) prepare an economic justification for each commodity involved in the suspension or restriction to determine if such a purchase is necessary;
(B) estimate any suspension- or restriction-related benefits and detrimental effects to the exporters, and use both estimates in determining the extent, if any, Federal assistance is needed; and
(C) limit its purchases to only those types and grades of commodities suspended or restricted from shipment and make such purchases at prices at or near the current market prices.
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§5673. Contracting authority to expand agricultural export markets
(a) In general
The Secretary may contract with individuals for services to be performed outside the United States as the Secretary determines necessary or appropriate for carrying out programs and activities to maintain, develop, or enhance export markets for United States agricultural commodities and products.
(b) Not employees of United States
Individuals referred to in subsection (a) shall not be regarded as officers or employees of the United States.
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§5674. Trade consultations concerning imports
(a) Consultation between agencies
The Secretary shall require consultation between the Administrator of the Service and the heads of other appropriate agencies and offices of the Department of Agriculture, including the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, prior to relaxing or removing any restriction on the importation of any agricultural commodity into the United States.
(b) Consultation with Trade Representative
The Secretary shall consult with the United States Trade Representative prior to relaxing or removing any restriction on the importation of any agricultural commodity or a product thereof into the United States.
(c) Monitoring compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary measures
The Secretary shall monitor the compliance of World Trade Organization member countries with the sanitary and phytosanitary measures of the Agreement on Agriculture of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. If the Secretary has reason to believe that any country may have failed to meet the commitment on sanitary and phytosanitary measures under the Agreement in a manner that adversely impacts the exports of a United States agricultural commodity, the Secretary shall—
(1) provide such information to the United States Trade Representative of the circumstances surrounding the matter arising under this subsection; and
(2) with respect to any such circumstances that the Secretary considers to have a continuing adverse effect on United States agricultural exports, report to the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on Ways and Means, of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the Committee on Finance, of the Senate—
(A) that a country may have failed to meet the sanitary and phytosanitary commitments; and
(B) any notice given by the Secretary to the United States Trade Representative.
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Editorial Notes
Amendments
1996—Subsec. (c).
§5675. Technical assistance in trade negotiations
The Secretary shall provide technical services to the United States Trade Representative on matters pertaining to agricultural trade and with respect to international negotiations on issues related to agricultural trade.
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§5676. Limitation on use of certain export promotion programs
(a) In general
The Secretary may provide that a person shall be ineligible for participation in an export program established under title I of the Food for Peace Act [
(b) Vegetable oil
A person shall be ineligible for participation in any of the export programs referred to in subsection (a) with respect to the export of vegetable oil or a vegetable oil product that has been or will be used as the basis for a claim of a refund, as a drawback, pursuant to
(c) Certification
If the Secretary takes action under the authority granted under subsection (a), a person applying to export any agricultural commodity under the export programs referred to in subsection (a) shall certify that none of the commodity has been or will be used as the basis of a claim for any refund specified in subsection (a), except that regardless of whether the Secretary takes action under the authority granted under subsection (a), a person applying to export any vegetable oil or vegetable oil product under such programs shall certify that none of the vegetable oil or vegetable oil product has been or will be used as the basis of a claim for any refund specified in subsection (b).
(d) Regulations
The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry out this section.
(e) Applicability
This section shall not apply to quantities of agricultural commodities and products with respect to which an exporter has entered into a contract, prior to November 28, 1990, for an export sale.
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Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Food for Peace Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is act July 10, 1954, ch. 469,
Amendments
2008—Subsec. (a).
1991—Subsec. (e).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Amendment by
§5677. Trade compensation and assistance programs
(a) In general
Except as provided in subsection (f), notwithstanding any other provision of law, if, after April 4, 1996, the President or any other member of the executive branch causes exports from the United States to any country to be unilaterally suspended for reasons of national security or foreign policy, and if within 90 days after the date on which the suspension is imposed on United States exports no other country with an agricultural economic interest agrees to participate in the suspension, the Secretary shall carry out a trade compensation assistance program in accordance with this section (referred to in this section as a "program").
(b) Compensation or provision of funds
Under a program, the Secretary shall, based on an evaluation by the Secretary of the method most likely to produce the greatest compensatory benefit for producers of the commodity involved in the suspension—
(1) compensate producers of the commodity by making payments available to producers, as provided by subsection (c)(1); or
(2) make available an amount of funds calculated under subsection (c)(2), to promote agricultural exports or provide agricultural commodities to developing countries under any authorities available to the Secretary.
(c) Determination of amount of compensation or funds
(1) Compensation
If the Secretary makes payments available to producers under subsection (b)(1), the amount of the payment shall be determined by the Secretary based on the Secretary's estimate of the loss suffered by producers of the commodity involved due to any decrease in the price of the commodity as a result of the suspension.
(2) Determination of amount of funds
For each fiscal year of a program, the amount of funds made available under subsection (b)(2) shall be equal to 90 percent of the average annual value of United States agricultural exports to the country with respect to which exports are suspended during the most recent 3 years prior to the suspension for which data are available.
(d) Duration of program
For each suspension of exports for which a program is implemented under this section, funds shall be made available under subsection (b) for each fiscal year or part of a fiscal year for which the suspension is in effect, but not to exceed 3 fiscal years.
(e) Commodity Credit Corporation
The Secretary shall use funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this section.
(f) Exception to carrying out program
This section shall not apply to any suspension of trade due to a war or armed hostility.
(g) Partial year embargoes
If the Secretary makes funds available under subsection (b)(2), regardless of whether an embargo is in effect for only part of a fiscal year, the full amount of funds as calculated under subsection (c)(2) shall be made available under a program for the fiscal year. If the Secretary determines that making the required amount of funds available in a partial fiscal year is impracticable, the Secretary may make all or part of the funds required to be made available in the following fiscal year (in addition to any funds otherwise required under a program to be made available in the following fiscal year).
(h) Short supply embargoes
If the President or any other member of the executive branch causes exports to be suspended based on a determination of short supply, the Secretary shall carry out
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§5678. Edward R. Madigan United States Agricultural Export Excellence Award
(a) Findings
Congress finds that—
(1) United States producers of agricultural products are some of the most productive and efficient producers of agricultural products in the world;
(2) continued growth and expansion of markets for United States agricultural exports is crucial to the continued development and economic well-being of rural areas of the United States and the agricultural sector of the United States economy;
(3) in recent years, United States agricultural exports have steadily increased, surpassing $54,000,000,000 in value in 1995;
(4) as United States agricultural producers move toward a market-oriented system in which planting and other decisions by producers are driven by national and international market signals, developing new and expanding agricultural export markets is vital to maintaining a vibrant and healthy agricultural sector and rural economy; and
(5) a United States agricultural export excellence award will increase United States agricultural exports by—
(A) identifying efforts of United States entities to develop and expand markets for United States agricultural exports through the development of new products and services and through the use of innovative marketing techniques;
(B) recognizing achievements of those who have exhibited or supported entrepreneurial efforts to expand and create new markets for United States agricultural exports or increase the volume or value of United States agricultural exports; and
(C) disseminating information on successful methods used to develop and expand markets for United States agricultural exports.
(b) Establishment
There is established the Edward R. Madigan United States Agricultural Export Excellence Award, which shall be evidenced by a medal bearing the inscription "Edward R. Madigan United States Agricultural Export Excellence Award". The medal shall be of such design and materials and bear such additional inscriptions as the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the "Secretary") may prescribe.
(c) Selection of recipient
The President or the Secretary (on the basis of recommendations received from the board established under subsection (h)) shall periodically provide the award to companies and other entities that in the judgment of the President or the Secretary substantially encourage entrepreneurial efforts in the food and agriculture sector for advancing United States agricultural exports.
(d) Presentation of award
The presentation of the award shall be made by the President or the Secretary with such ceremonies as the President or the Secretary considers proper.
(e) Publication of award
An entity to which an award is made under this section may publicize the receipt of the award by the entity and use the award in advertising of the entity.
(f) Categories for which award may be given
Separate awards shall be made to qualifying entities in each of the following categories:
(1) Development of new products or services for agricultural export markets.
(2) Development of new agricultural export markets.
(3) Creative marketing of products or services in agricultural export markets.
(g) Criteria for qualification
An entity may qualify for an award under this section only if the entity—
(1)(A) applies to the board established under subsection (h) in writing for the award; or
(B) is recommended for the award by a Governor of a State;
(2)(A) has exhibited significant entrepreneurial effort to create new markets for United States agricultural exports or increase United States agricultural exports; or
(B) has provided significant assistance to others in an effort to create new markets for United States agricultural exports or increase United States agricultural exports;
(3) has not received another award in the same category under subsection (f) during the preceding 5-year period; and
(4) meets such other requirements and specifications as the Secretary determines are appropriate to achieve the objectives of this section.
(h) Board
(1) Selection
The Secretary shall appoint a board of evaluators, consisting of at least 5 individuals from the private sector selected for their knowledge and experience in exporting United States agricultural products.
(2) Meetings
The board shall meet at least once annually to review and evaluate all applicants and entities recommended by States under subsection (g)(1).
(3) Recommendations of board
The board shall report its recommendations concerning the making of the award to the Secretary.
(4) Term
Each member of the board may serve a term of not to exceed 3 years.
(i) Funding
The Secretary may seek and accept gifts from public and private sources to carry out this section.
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Editorial Notes
Codification
Section was enacted as part of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, and not as part of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 which comprises this chapter.
§5679. Biotechnology and agricultural trade program
(a) Establishment
There is established in the Department the biotechnology and agricultural trade program.
(b) Purpose
The purpose of the program shall be to remove, resolve, or mitigate significant regulatory nontariff barriers to the export of United States agricultural commodities (as defined in
(1) quick response intervention regarding nontariff barriers to United States exports involving—
(A) United States agricultural commodities produced through biotechnology or new agricultural production technologies;
(B) food safety;
(C) disease; or
(D) other sanitary or phytosanitary concerns; or
(2) developing protocols as part of bilateral negotiations with other countries on issues such as animal health, grain quality, and genetically modified commodities.
(c) Eligible programs
Depending on need, as determined by the Secretary, activities authorized under this section may be carried out through—
(1) this section;
(2) the emerging markets program under section 1542 1 and
(3) the Cochran Fellowship Program under
(d) Funding
There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
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Editorial Notes
References in Text
Section 1542, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is section 1542 of title XV of
Codification
Section was enacted as part of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, and not as part of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 which comprises this chapter.
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (b)(1)(A).
Subsec. (c)(2).
Subsec. (d).
1 See References in Text note below.
§5680. Repealed. Pub. L. 115–334, title III, §3201(b)(4), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4617
Section,