Trade Adjustment Plan Introduced By USDA

Trade Adjustment Plan
Introduced By USDA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun accepting petitions from U.S. agricultural producers for the agency’s new Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

Under the program, technical assistance and adjustment payments will be provided to U.S. agricultural, livestock and aquacultural producers, including qualified fishermen, if it is demonstrated that increased imports of competitive commodities have contributed significantly to a 20 percent or greater price decline compared to the average price over five preceding marketing years.

"We are working to educate U.S. producers about this program through state departments of agriculture, commodity groups, trade organizations, rural leaders and many others across the country," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman.

The Trade Act of 2002 established the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers program and authorized appropriations to carry out the program not to exceed $90 million a year for fiscal years 2003 through 2007. The program, administered by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, will be implemented based on a notice published in the Federal Register and posted on USDA’s website at www.fas.usda.gov/info/fr/notices.html.

Groups of agricultural producers with complete marketing year price information from marketing year 2002 or 2003, whichever is the most recent available, are eligible to apply.

A group of agricultural producers or their authorized representative must first file a petition with FAS to establish group eligibility to apply for TAA. After a group is judged eligible by USDA, individual producers belonging to that group may file for benefits. Producers can obtain instructions on filing a petition and applying for benefits from local Farm Service Agency offices. The TAA petition form and application are located at www.fas.usda.gov/itp/taa/resource.htm.

Further information is available from county or state Farm Service Agency offices or the Foreign Agricultural Service Trade Adjustment Assistance Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 1021, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250-1021; telephone: (202) 720-2916; e-mail: Trade.Adjustment@fas.usda.gov.

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