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[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 23, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28901-28902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2552]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

7 CFR Part 1485

RIN Number: 0051-AA69

Market Access Program

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is soliciting comments 
on whether to amend and revise the regulation at 7 CFR part 1485 for 
the purpose of improving the effectiveness of the program. This action 
announces the comment period and the date, time, and location for a 
public hearing on the proposed rulemaking. The Market Access Program 
(MAP) is administered by personnel of the Foreign Agricultural Service 
(FAS).

DATES: Written comments on the proposed rulemaking must be received on 
or before Monday, August 13, 2007, to be assured of consideration. FAS 
will conduct a public hearing in order to receive oral and written 
comments. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 25, 2007, from 9 
a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The hearing scheduled for July 25, 2007, will be held in the 
Jefferson Auditorium at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250.
    Comments may be hand delivered (including FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.) 
to: Program Policy Staff, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign 
Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1250 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20024-2162. Comments may also be 
delivered through the U.S. mail to: Program Policy Staff, Office of 
Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., STOP 1042, Washington, DC 
20250-1042. All written comments received will be available for public 
inspection at the above address during business hours from 8 a.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday. Persons with disabilities who require an 
alternative means for communication of information (Braille, large 
print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's Target Center at (202) 
720-2600 (voice and TDD).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Slupek, Director, Program Policy 
Staff, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, (202) 720-4327; fax (202) 720-9361.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The current regulation was last amended on June 2, 1998. FAS now 
has sufficient experience to propose further changes to improve the 
program's effectiveness. MAP funding helps to create, expand, and 
maintain commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products. The 
program forms partnerships between non-profit U.S. agricultural trade 
associations, U.S. agricultural cooperatives, non-profit state-regional 
trade groups, small U.S. businesses, and the CCC to share the costs of 
international marketing and promotional activities. Any future 
amendment of the regulation could be expected to include revision of 
outdated language. For example, the current regulation does not reflect 
the organizational changes resulting from the recent reorganization of 
FAS.

Issues for Public Comment

    I. With respect to proposed administrative changes, comments on 
these specific issues are being requested:
    (a) Application process and activity plan. FAS is seeking comments 
on updating and merging the list of application requirements under 
Sec.  1485.13(a) and the activity plan requirements under Sec.  1485.15 
to reflect the Unified Export Strategy system that is currently in 
place.
    (b) Approval Criteria. FAS is seeking comments on the application 
approval criteria and allocation factors identified under Sec.  
1485.14(b) and (c).
    II. With respect to amending and revising the scope and coverage of 
the regulation, FAS is soliciting comments regarding the feasibility of 
the changes proposed below and views regarding how they might be 
implemented.
    (a) Expanding the scope of the program to include activities 
designed to address international market access issues. FAS is aware of 
the increasing numbers of trade barriers that disrupt the export of 
U.S. agricultural products in mature markets and is considering 
modifying the program to ensure that appropriate activities of this 
type would be reimbursable.
    (b) Modifying the lists of eligible and ineligible contributions 
[currently found at Sec.  1485.13(c)] to better identify in-kind and 
third party contributions.
    (c) Modifying the lists of reimbursable and non-reimbursable 
activities [currently found at Sec.  1485.16(b), (c), and (d)] to 
clarify existing activities and to include the use of electronic 
technologies not considered in the current regulation.
    (d) Revising the portions of the regulation regarding contracting 
procedures [currently found at Sec.  1485.23(c)]. The current 
regulation may not address the full range of contracting situations 
faced by participants. It may be necessary to identify the differences 
between employees, consultants, and contractors.
    (e) Revising the portions of the regulation regarding the 
compliance review and appeals processes. The

[[Page 28902]]

current regulation does not describe the compliance review and appeals 
processes in a single, cohesive section. A unified compliance section 
may improve the regulation.
    (f) Revising the portions of the regulation regarding evaluation 
[currently found at Sec.  1485.20(c)] to include requirements for 
country progress reports and success stories.
    (g) Eliminating the Export Incentive Program/Market Access Program 
(EIP/MAP) subcomponent. FAS does not currently operate the EIP/MAP 
subcomponent and is considering removing reference to the subcomponent 
from the regulation.
    III. With respect to risk management, FAS is soliciting comments 
regarding the mitigation of the risk inherent to reimbursing third 
party contracting expenses and brand participant activities with 
program funds. This could include improved accounting controls, 
insurance against fraud, bonding employees, or other risk management 
tools.
    IV. In addition, FAS requests comments on any other aspect of the 
program set forth at 7 CFR part 1485 which commenters believe should be 
addressed in any future amendment of the regulation.

    Dated: May 10, 2007.
W. Kirk Miller,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and Vice President, 
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 07-2552 Filed 5-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-M
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