Volume 68 · 455
Public Law 83–480
To increase the consumption of United States agricultural commodities in foreign countries, to improve the foreign relations of the United States, and for other purposes.
Approved July 10, 1954
Statutory text
AN ACT
To increase the consumption of United States agricultural commodities in foreign countries, to improve the foreign relations of the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That this Act may be cited as the “Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954”.
Sec. 2.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress to expand international trade among the United States and friendly nations, to facilitate the convertibility of currency, to promote the economic stability of American agriculture and the national welfare, to make maximum efficient use of surplus agricultural commodities in furtherance of the foreign policy of the United States, and to stimulate and facilitate the expansion of foreign trade in agricultural commodities produced in the United States by providing a means whereby surplus agricultural commodities in excess of the usual marketings of such commodities may be sold through private trade channels, and foreign currencies accepted in payment therefor. It is further the policy to use foreign currencies which accrue to the United States under this Act to expand international trade, to encourage economic development, to purchase strategic materials, to pay United States obligations abroad, to promote collective strength, and to foster in other ways the foreign policy of the United States.
TITLE I— SALES FOR FOREIGN CURRENCY
Sec. 101.
In furtherance of this policy, the President is authorized to
Sale of surplus commodities.
Agreements.
negotiate and carry out agreements with friendly nations or organizations of friendly nations to provide for the sale of surplus agricultural commodities for foreign currencies. In negotiating such agreements the President shall—
take reasonable precautions to safeguard usual marketings
U. S. marketings.
of the United States and to assure that sales under this Act will not unduly disrupt world prices of agricultural commodities;
take appropriate steps to assure that private trade channels
Private trade.
are used to the maximum extent practicable both with respect to sales from privately owned stocks and from stocks owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation;
give special consideration to utilizing the authority and
New market areas, etc.
funds provided by this Act, in order to develop and expand continuous market demand abroad for agricultural commodities, with appropriate emphasis on underdeveloped and new market areas;
seek and secure commitments from participating countries
Resale prevention, etc.
that will prevent resale or transshipment to other countries, or use for other than domestic purposes, of surplus agricultural commodities purchased under this Act, without specific approval of the President; and
afford any friendly nation the maximum opportunity to
Purchase opportunity.
purchase surplus agricultural commodities from the United States, taking into consideration the opportunities to achieve the declared policy of this Act and to make effective use of the foreign currencies received to carry out the purposes of this Act.
Sec. 102.
For the purpose or carrying out agreements concluded
CCC surplus commodities.
by the President hereunder, the Commodity Credit Corporation, in accordance with regulations issued by the President pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, (1) shall make available for sale hereunder
Availability.
at such points in the United States as the President may direct surplus agricultural commodities heretofore or hereafter acquired by the Corporation in the administration of its price support operations, and (2) shall make funds available to finance the sale and exportation of surplus
Funds for export, etc.
agricultural commodities from stocks owned by the Corporation or pledged or mortgaged as security for price support loans or from stocks privately owned if the Corporation is not in a position to supply the commodity from its owned stocks: Provided, That to facilitate the
Private exporters.
use of private trade channels the Corporation, even though it is in a position to supply the commodity, may finance the sale and exportation of privately owned stocks if the Corporation’s stocks are reduced through arrangements whereby the private exporter acquires the same commodity of comparable value or quantity from the Commodity Credit Corporation. In supplying commodities to private exporters under such arrangements Commodity Credit Corporation shall not be subject to the sales price restriction in section 407 of the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended.
Post, p. 458.
In order to facilitate and maximize the use of private channels
Letters of commitment
of trade in carrying out agreements entered into pursuant to this Act, the President may, under such regulations and subject to such safeguards as he deems appropriate, provide for the issuance of letters of commitment against funds or guaranties of funds supplied by the Commodity Credit Corporation and for this purpose accounts may be established on the books of any department, agency, or establishment of the Government, or on terms and conditions approved by the Secretary of the Treasury in banking institutions in the United States. Such letters of commitment, when issued, shall constitute obligations of the United States and moneys due or to become due thereunder shall
be assignable under the Assignment of Claims Act of 1940. expenditures of funds which have been made available through accounts so established shall be accounted for on standard documentation required for expenditures of Government funds.
Sec. 103.
For the purpose of making payment to the Commodity
Appropriation.
CCC payments.
Credit Corporation to the extent the Commodity Credit Corporation is not reimbursed under section 105 for commodities disposed of and costs incurred under titles I and II of this Act, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as are equal to (1) the Corporation’s investment in commodities made available for export under this title and title II of this Act, including processing, packaging, transportation, and handling costs, and (2) all costs incurred by the Corporation in making funds available to finance the exportation of surplus agricultural commodities pursuant to this title. Any funds or other assets available to the Commodity Credit Corporation may be used in advance of such appropriation or payments, for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
Transactions shall not be carried out under this title which will
Limitation.
call for appropriations to reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, in amounts in excess of $700,000,000.
Sec. 104.
Notwithstanding section 1415 of the Supplemental appropriation
Use of foreign currencies.
Act, 1953, or any other provision of law, the President may use or enter into agreements with friendly nations or organizations of nations to use the foreign currencies which accrue under this title for one or more of the following purposes:
To help develop new markets for United States agricultural commodities on a mutually benefiting basis;
To purchase or contract to purchase strategic and critical materials, within the applicable terms of the Strategic and
Critical Materials Stockpile Act, for a supplemental United States stockpile of such materials as the President may determine from time to time under contracts, including advance payment contracts, for supply extending over periods up to ten years. All strategic and critical materials acquired under authority of this title shall be placed in the above named supplemental stockpile and may be additional to the amounts acquired under authority of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpile Act. Materials so acquired shall be released from the supplemental stockpile only
under the provisions of section 3 of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpile Act;
To procure military equipment, materials, facilities, and services for the common defense;
For financing the purchase of goods or services for other friendly countries;
For promoting balanced economic development and trade among nations:
To pay United States obligations abroad;
For loans to promote multilateral trade and economic development, made through established banking facilities of the friendly nation from which the foreign currency was obtained or in any other manner which the President may deem to be appropriate. Strategic materials, services, or foreign currencies may be accepted in payment of such loans;
For the financing of international educational exchange activities under the programs authorized by section 32 (b) (2) of the Surplus Property Act of 1944, as amended (50 U. S. C. App. 1641 (b)).
Provided, however, That section 1415 of the Supplemental appropriation Act, 1953, shall apply to all foreign currencies used for grants
under subsections (d) and (e) and for payment of United States obligations involving grants under subsection (f) and to not less than 10 per centum of the foreign currencies which accrue under this title: Provided, however, That the President is authorized to waive such
Waiver.
applicability of section 1415 in any case where he determines that it would be inappropriate or inconsistent with the purposes of this title.
Sec. 105.
Foreign currencies received pursuant to this title shall be
Special account.
deposited in a special account to the credit of the United States and shall be used only pursuant to section 104 of this title, and any Department or agency of the government using any of such currencies for a purpose for which funds have been appropriated shall reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation in an amount equivalent to the dollar value of the currencies used.
Sec. 106.
As used in this Act, “surplus agricultural commodity” shall mean any agricultural commodity
“Surplus agricultural commodity”.
or product thereof, class, kind, type, or other specification thereof, produced in the United States, either privately or publicly owned, which is or may be reasonably expected to be in excess of domestic requirements, adequate carryover, and anticipated exports for dollars, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.
Sec. 107.
As used in this Act, “friendly nation” means any country
“Friendly nation.”
other than (1) the U. S. S. R., or (2) any nation or area dominated or controlled by the foreign government or foreign organization controlling the world Communist movement.
Sec. 108.
The President shall make a report to Congress with
Report to Congress.
respect to the activities carried on under this Act at least once each six months and at such other times as may be appropriate and such reports shall include the dollar value, at the exchange rates in effect at the time of the sale, of the foreign currency for which commodities exported pursuant to section 102 (a) hereof are sold.
Sec. 109.
No transactions shall be undertaken under authority of
Termination.
this title after June 30, 1957, except as required pursuant to agreements theretofore entered into pursuant to this title.
TITLE II— FAMINE RELIEF AND OTHER ASSISTANCE
Sec. 201.
In order to enable the President to furnish emergency
Emergency relief.
assistance on behalf of the people of the United States to friendly peoples in meeting famine or other urgent relief requirements, the Commodity Credit Corporation shall make available to the President out of its stocks such surplus agricultural commodities (as defined in section 106 of title I) f. o. b. vessels in United States ports, as he may request, for transfer (1) to any nation friendly to the United States in order to meet famine or other urgent relief requirements of such nation, and (2) to friendly but needy populations without regard to the friendliness of their government.
Sec. 202.
The President may authorize the transfer on a grant basis of surplus agricultural commodities from Commodity Credit Corporation stocks to assist programs undertaken with friendly Governments or through voluntary relief agencies: Provided, That the President shall take reasonable precaution that such transfers will not displace or interfere with sales which might otherwise be made.
Sec. 203.
Not more than $300,000,000 (including the Corporation’s
Limitation.
investment in the commodities) shall be expended for all transfers, including delivery on board vessels in United States ports, under this title. The President may make such transfers through such agencies including intergovernmental organizations, in such manner, and upon such terms and conditions as he deems appropriate; he shall make use of the facilities of voluntary relief agencies to the extent practicable.
Sec. 204.
No programs of assistance shall be undertaken under the
Termination.
authority of this title after June 30, 1957.
TITLE III— GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301.
Section 407 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 is amended
Sale of farm commodities.
U. S. relief.
by adding at the end thereof the following: “Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation, on such terms and conditions as the Secretary may deem in the public interest, shall make available any farm commodity or product thereof owned or controlled by it for use in relieving distress (1) in any area in the United States declared by the President to be an acute distress area because of unemployment or other economic cause if the President finds that such use will not displace or interfere with normal marketing of agricultural commodities and (2) in connection with any major disaster determined by the President to warrant assistance by the Federal Government under
Public Law 875, Eighty-first Congress, as amended (42 U. S. C. 1855). Except on a reimbursable basis, the Corporation shall not bear any costs in connection with making such commodity available beyond the cost of the commodities to the Corporation in store and the handling and transportation costs in making delivery of the commodity to designated agencies at one or more central locations in each State.”
Sec. 302.
Section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 is amended to
read as follows:
“Sec. 416.
In order to prevent the waste of commodities acquired
Perishable commodities.
Disposal.
through price-support operations by the Commodity Credit Corporation before they can be disposed of in normal domestic channels without impairment of the price-support program or sold abroad at competitive world prices, the Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized, on such terms and under such regulations as the Secretary may deem in the public interest: (1) upon application, to make such commodities available to any Federal agency for use in making payment for commodities not produced in the United States; (2) to barter or exchange such commodities for strategic or other materials as authorized by law; (3) in the case of food commodities to donate such commodities to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and to such State, Federal, or private agency or agencies as may be designated by the proper State or Federal authority and approved by the Secretary, for use in the United States in nonprofit school-lunch programs, in the assistance of needy persons, and in charitable institutions, including hospitals, to the extent that needy persons are served; and (4) to donate any such food commodities in excess of anticipated disposition under (1), (2), and (3) above to nonprofit voluntary agencies registered with the Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid of the Foreign Operations Administration or other appropriate department or agency of the Federal Government and intergovernmental organizations for use in the assistance of needy persons outside the United States. In the case of (3) and (4) above the Secretary shall obtain such assurance as he deems necessary that the recipients thereof will not diminish their normal expenditures for food by reason of such donation. In order to facilitate the appropriate disposal of such commodities, the Secretary may from time to time estimate and announce the quantity of such commodities which he anticipates will become available for distribution under (3) and (4) above. The Commodity Credit Corporation
Reprocessing, etc., charges.
may pay, with respect to commodities disposed of under this section, reprocessing, packaging, transporting, handling, and other charges accruing up to the time of their delivery to a Federal agency or to the designated State or private agency, in the case of commodities made available for use within the United States, or their delivery free alongside ship or free on board export carrier at point of export, in the case of commodities made available for use outside the United States. For the purpose of this section the terms ‘State’ and ‘United States’ include the District of Columbia and any Territory or possession of the United States.”
Sec. 303.
Whenever the Secretary has reason to believe that, in
Barter authority.
addition to other authorized methods and means of disposing of agricultural commodities owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation, there may be opportunity to protect the funds and assets of the Commodity Credit Corporation by barter or exchange of such agricultural commodities for (a) strategic materials entailing less risk of loss through deterioration or substantially less storage charges, or (b) materials, goods or equipment required in connection with foreign economic and military aid and assistance programs, or (c) materials or equipment required in substantial quantities for offshore construction programs, he is hereby directed to use every practicable means, in cooperation with other Government agencies, to arrange and make, through private trade channels, such barters or exchanges or to utilize the authority conferred on him by section 4 (h) of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, as amended, to make such barters
or exchanges. Agencies of the United States Government procuring such materials, goods or equipment are hereby directed to cooperate with the Secretary in the disposal of surplus agricultural commodities by means of barter or exchange. Strategic materials so acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be considered as assets of the Corporation and other agencies of the Government, in purchasing strategic materials, shall purchase such materials from Commodity Credit Corporation inventories to the extent available in fulfillment of their requirements. The Secretary is also directed to assist, through such means as are available to him, farmers’ cooperatives in effecting exchange of agricultural commodities in their possession for strategic materials.
Sec. 304.
The President shall exercise the authority contained
Independent trade, etc.
herein (1) to assist friendly nations to be independent of trade with the U. S. S. R. or nations dominated or controlled by the U. S. S. R. for food, raw materials and markets, and (2) to assure that agricultural commodities sold or transferred hereunder do not result in increased availability of those or like commodities to unfriendly nations.
Sec. 305.
All Commodity Credit Corporation stocks disposed of
Marking of packages.
under title II of this Act and section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended, shall be clearly identified by, as far as practical,
Ante, p. 458.
appropriate marking on each package or container as being furnished by the people of the United States of America.
Approved July 10, 1954.