Background
It is critical that the 2007 Farm Bill deal with the problem of the U.S. trade deficit in specialty crops. In 1995, the U.S. had a trade surplus of over $600 million in fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. However, in 2005, the U.S. was running a trade deficit of nearly $2.3 billion for these specialty crops. During the past decade, exports of specialty crops have not nearly kept pace with the level of imports because U.S. growers continue to face trade barriers in many international markets. It is essential that this disturbing trend be reversed if U.S. specialty crop growers are to remain competitive in global markets.
The Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program was established in the 2002 Farm Bill (PL 107-171, section 3205) to "address unique barriers that prohibit or threaten the export of United States specialty crops" by providing "direct assistance through public and private sector projects and technical assistance to remove, resolve, or mitigate sanitary and phytosanitary and related barriers to trade." The 2002 Farm Bill provided $2 million in mandatory funding annually for TASC. The objective of the TASC program is to boost U.S. specialty crop exports by facilitating the removal of specialty crop trade barriers.
TASC proposals are accepted from any U.S. organization, including, but not limited to: U.S. government agencies, state government agencies, non-profit trade associations, universities, agricultural cooperatives and private companies. The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), which administers the program, provides grant funds as direct assistance to U.S. organizations. Applicant contributions are not required, but are strongly encouraged. Funds are awarded to applicants that demonstrate how their project will overcome trade barriers resulting in market access retention and expansion for specialty crops. Award maximums are $250,000 per year, and for activities of up to three years. Proposals may target any eligible export market, including single countries or reasonable regional groupings of countries.
The current level of $2 million per year for the TASC program is not sufficient to keep up with demand. Current estimates of demand for TASC funding are about $7 million per year. It is necessary to immediately accelerate efforts to increase specialty crop exports through the removal of trade barriers by increasing TASC funding to meet demand. Increased TASC funding will be used to assist specialty crop growers in efforts to remain competitive in world markets through expanded international market access.
Section 201 of the Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2004 (H.R. 3242, PL 108-465), as enacted, provided an authorization for an additional $2 million annually for five years for TASC. However, Congress did not provide additional funding beyond the $2 million in mandatory funding provided in the 2002 Farm Bill in FY 2006. The Senate FY 2007 Agriculture Appropriations bill provides an additional $200,000 (in addition to the $2 million in mandatory funding) for the TASC program.
Examples
The TASC program has proven to be very successful in removing trade barriers for U.S. specialty crop growers. TASC funding is used to conduct scientific research and other activities needed to facilitate the removal of specialty crop trade barriers in international markets. Below are several examples of successful TASC projects:
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The California Grape and Tree Fruit League utilized TASC to expand exports of California stone fruit to Mexico by organizing less restrictive export requirements.
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The Indian River Citrus League in Florida utilized TASC to create the Caribbean Fruit Fly Export Alert Network (FlyNet), which reduces costs for exported Florida grapefruit that must be certified free of the Caribbean fruit fly.
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The California Pistachio Commission utilized TASC to support a trade mission to educate EU health authority officials and importers on the food safety practices of pistachio growers.
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The Michigan Apple Committee utilized TASC to place a Mexican fruit inspector in Michigan and meet phytosanitary protocols necessary to expand apple exports to Mexico.
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The National Potato Promotion Board utilized TASC for several export expansion projects, including the negotiation of protocols for U.S. seed potatoes exports to Venezuela and Brazil and fresh potatoes to China.
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The Northwest Fruit Exporters utilized TASC for research on fire blight problems in order to open the Australian and South African markets to Pacific Northwest apples.
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The Virginia Apple Growers Association utilized TASC to fund the activities of a Mexican inspector for exports to Mexico, thereby doubling Virginia apple exports to this market.
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The National Potato Council has utilized TASC funds for developing testing protocols and domestic phytosanitary management and reporting systems that allow trade negotiations with Mexico and other potential export markets to be based on fair representations of the phytosanitary health of US potatoes.
These are just a few examples of TASC projects that have opened numerous international markets for U.S. specialty crop growers.
Policy Recommendation
Reauthorize and increase funding for the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program.
Cost: $38 million over 5 years ($4 million FY 08; $6 million FY 09; $8 million FY 10, $10 million FY 11; $10 million FY 12).
Additional Resources
More information about the TASC program can be obtained from the USDA website here.
A report on specialty crop trade issues can be found on USDA's website here.
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