Agricultural Export Promotion Act of 2018

Agricultural Export Promotion Act of 2018

This bill establishes the United States Agricultural Export Promotion Fund and requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer to the fund an amount equivalent to certain duties imposed on imported goods under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 or the Trade Act of 1974.

The amounts in the fund must be available to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), without further appropriation, for carrying out activities of the Foreign Market Development Program, the Market Access Program, and the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program to promote exports of U.S. agricultural commodities and products.

In carrying out this bill, USDA must, to the maximum extent practicable, give priority to promoting exports of agricultural commodities and products of U.S. businesses that are adversely affected by increased duties imposed on U.S. exports by foreign countries in response to increased duties imposed by the United States on imports from the countries.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3407 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3407

To offset retaliatory duties against the United States by establishing 
a fund to promote the exports of United States agricultural commodities 
                             and products.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 4, 2018

 Ms. Heitkamp introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To offset retaliatory duties against the United States by establishing 
a fund to promote the exports of United States agricultural commodities 
                             and products.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Agricultural Export Promotion Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The President has made clear his intention to 
        aggressively take actions pursuant to section 232 of the Trade 
        Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862) and section 301 of the 
        Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411) to increase duties on 
        certain imports.
            (2) In retaliation, the governments of foreign countries 
        affected by such duty increases have already raised duties on 
        exports of United States agricultural commodities and products, 
        or may do so.
            (3) Without offsetting actions to increase exports of 
        United States agricultural commodities and products into third-
        country markets, increased duties on such exports threaten to 
        reduce employment and output in the agricultural sector of the 
        United States economy.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL EXPORT PROMOTION FUND.

    (a) Establishment of Fund.--There is established in the Treasury a 
fund to be known as the ``United States Agricultural Export Promotion 
Fund'', consisting of such amounts as may be transferred to the fund 
pursuant to subsection (b), to remain available until expended.
    (b) Transfers to Fund.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transfer to the United States Agricultural Export Promotion Fund from 
the general fund of the Treasury an amount equivalent to the amount of 
duties collected after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
imposed pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 
U.S.C. 1862) or section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411).
    (c) Availability of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Amounts in the United States Agricultural 
        Export Promotion Fund shall be available to the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, without further appropriation, to carry out 
        activities of the Foreign Market Development Program, the 
        Market Access Program, and the Technical Assistance for 
        Specialty Crops program to promote exports of United States 
        agricultural commodities and products.
            (2) Priority.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall, to the maximum extent practicable, give priority to 
        promoting exports of agricultural commodities and products of 
        United States businesses that are adversely affected by 
        increases in duties imposed on United States exports by foreign 
        countries in response to increases in duties on imports from 
        such foreign countries pursuant to section 232 of the Trade 
        Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862) or section 301 of the 
        Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411).
            (3) Additional amounts.--Amounts made available under this 
        subsection are in addition to amounts otherwise made available 
        for activities of the Foreign Market Development Program, the 
        Market Access Program, and the Technical Assistance for 
        Specialty Crops program in accordance with the purpose 
        described in paragraph (1).
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