Agricultural Trade Improvements Needed In Management Of Targeted Export Assistance Program PDF Download

The Market Promotion Program (MPP) was created to encourage the development, maintenance, and expansion of exports of U.S. agricultural products. Established by the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, the program is open to a wide variety of exporters but gives priority to participants adversely affected by unfair foreign trade practices. The act also mandated that Agriculture develop a long-term agricultural strategy by October 1991. To date, this strategy has not been completed. MPP became the successor to the Targeted Export Assistance Program (TEA), which was established in 1986. Since 1986, over $1 billion has been authorized for TEA and MPP. Currently, the program has $200 million in annual funding. MPP is operated through about 61 organizations that either run market promotion programs themselves or pass the funds along to companies to spend on their own market promotion efforts. About two-thirds of all program activities involve generic promotions, the remaining one-third involves branded?? (brand-name) promotions. MPP focuses primarily on high- value products such as fruits, nuts, and processed goods. The Cooperator Program--another FAS program, in operation since the mid-1950s--has broad goals that are similar to those of MPP. Some Cooperator Program participants have transferred their activities to, and now only participate in, MPP; others continue to participate in both programs.