This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

1309 

Vol. 72, No. 7 

Thursday, January 11, 2007 

AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT 

Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and 

Humanitarian Assistance; Office of 

Food for Peace; Announcement of 

Final 2007 Food for Peace Guidelines 

and Procedures for International Food 

Relief Partnership (IFRP) 

Transportation and Distribution 

Applications; Notice 

Pursuant to the Agricultural Trade 

Development and Assistance Act of 

1954 (Public Law 480, as amended), 

notice is hereby given that the final FY 

2007 Food for Peace Guidelines and 

Procedures for International Food Relief 

Partnership (IFRP) Transportation and 

Distribution Applications are available 

to interested parties for general viewing. 

Individuals who wish to access the 

current guidelines should visit the Food 

for Peace Web site at http:// 

www.usaid.gov/our_work/

humanitarian_assistance/ffp/, or 

contact the Office of Food for Peace, via 

AMEX International, Attn: 2007 IFRP 

Applications, 1300 Pennsylvania 

Avenue, NW., Suite 700, Washington, 

DC 20004 or IFRP@amexdc.com. 

William Hammink, 

Director, Office of Food for Peace, Bureau 

for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian 

Assistance. 

[FR Doc. E7–222 Filed 1–10–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6116–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Funds Availability; Inviting 

Applications for the Quality Samples 

Program 

Announcement Type: New. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.605. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) announces the 

availability of $2.5 million in funding 

for the 2007 Quality Samples Program 

(QSP). The purpose of this notice is to 

solicit applications for participation in 

the FY 2007 QSP. QSP is administered 

by personnel of the Foreign Agricultural 

Service (FAS). This notice supercedes 

any prior notices concerning QSP. 

DATES: All proposals must be received 

by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 

February 12, 2007. Applications 

received after this date will be 

considered only if funds are still 

available. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Entities wishing to apply for funding 

assistance should contact the Program 

Policy Staff, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Portals Office Building, Suite 

400, 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 22024, phone: (202) 

720–4327, fax: (202) 720–9361, e-mail: 

ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov. Information is 

also available on the Foreign 

Agricultural Service Web site at http:// 

www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/ 

QSP.asp. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Authority: QSP is authorized under 

Section 5(f) of the CCC Charter Act, 15 

U.S.C. 714c(f). 

Purpose: QSP is designed to 

encourage the development and 

expansion of export markets for U.S. 

agricultural commodities by assisting 

U.S. entities in providing commodity 

samples to potential foreign importers to 

promote a better understanding and 

appreciation for the high quality of U.S. 

agricultural commodities. 

QSP participants will be responsible 

for procuring (or arranging for the 

procurement of) commodity samples, 

exporting the samples, and providing 

the technical assistance necessary to 

facilitate successful use of the samples 

by importers. Participants that are 

funded under this announcement may 

seek reimbursement for the sample 

purchase price and the costs of 

transporting the samples domestically to 

the port of export and then to the 

foreign port, or point, of entry. 

Transportation costs from the foreign 

port, or point, of entry to the final 

destination will not be eligible for 

reimbursement. CCC will not reimburse 

the costs incidental to purchasing and 

transporting samples, for example, 

inspection or documentation fees. 

Although providing technical assistance 

is required for all projects, CCC will not 

reimburse the costs of providing 

technical assistance. A QSP participant 

will be reimbursed after CCC reviews its 

reimbursement claim and determines 

that the claim is complete. 

General Scope of QSP Projects: QSP 

projects are the activities undertaken by 

a QSP participant to provide an 

appropriate sample of a U.S. agricultural 

commodity to a foreign importer, or a 

group of foreign importers, in a given 

market. The purpose of the project is to 

provide information to an appropriate 

target audience regarding the attributes, 

characteristics, and proper use of the 

U.S. commodity. A QSP project 

addresses a single market/commodity 

combination. 

As a general matter, QSP projects 

should conform to the following 

guidelines: 

• Projects should benefit the 

represented U.S. industry and not a 

specific company or brand; 

• Projects should develop a new 

market for a U.S. product, promote a 

new U.S. product, or promote a new use 

for a U.S. product, rather than promote 

the substitution of one established U.S. 

product for another; 

• Sample commodities provided 

under a QSP project must be in 

sufficient supply and available on a 

commercial basis; 

• The QSP project must either subject 

the commodity sample to further 

processing or substantial transformation 

in the importing country, or the sample 

must be used in technical seminars 

designed to demonstrate to an 

appropriate target audience the proper 

preparation or use of the sample in the 

creation of an end product; 

• Samples provided in a QSP project 

shall not be directly used as part of a 

retail promotion or supplied directly to 

consumers. However, the end product, 

that is, the product resulting from 

further processing, substantial 

transformation, or a technical seminar, 

may be provided to end-use consumers 

to demonstrate to importers consumer 

preference for that end product; and, 

• Samples shall be in quantities less 

than a typical commercial sale and 

limited to the amount sufficient to 

achieve the project goal (e.g., not more 

than a full commercial mill run in the 

destination country). 

QSP projects shall target foreign 

importers and target audiences who: 


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1310 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 7 / Thursday, January 11, 2007 / Notices 

• Have not previously purchased the 

U.S. commodity which will be 

transported under QSP; 

• Are unfamiliar with the variety, 

quality attribute, or end-use 

characteristic of the U.S. commodity; 

• Have been unsuccessful in previous 

attempts to import, process, and market 

the U.S. commodity (e.g., because of 

improper specification, blending, or 

formulation; or sanitary or 

phytosanitary issues); 

• Are interested in testing or 

demonstrating the benefits of the U.S. 

commodity; or, 

• Need technical assistance in 

processing or using the U.S. commodity. 

II. Award Information 

Under this announcement, the 

number of projects per participant will 

not be limited. However, individual 

projects will be limited to $75,000 of 

QSP reimbursement. Projects comprised 

of technical preparation seminars, that 

is, projects that do not include further 

processing or substantial 

transformation, will be limited to 

$15,000 of QSP reimbursement as these 

projects require smaller samples. 

Financial assistance will be made 

available on a reimbursement basis 

only; cash advances will not be made 

available to any QSP participant. 

All proposals will be reviewed against 

the evaluation criteria contained herein 

and funds will be awarded on a 

competitive basis. Funding for 

successful proposals will be provided 

through specific agreements. These 

agreements will in corporate the 

proposal as approved by FAS. FAS must 

approve in advance any subsequent 

changes to the project. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants. Any United 

States private or government entity with 

a demonstrated role or interest in 

exporting U.S. agricultural commodities 

may apply to the program. Government 

organizations consist of federal, state, or 

local agencies. Private organizations 

include non-trade associations, 

universities, agricultural cooperatives, 

state regional trade groups, and profitmaking entities. 

2. Cost Sharing. FAS considers the 

applicant’s willingness to contribute 

resources, including cash and goods and 

services of the U.S. industry and foreign 

third parties, when determining which 

proposals are approved for funding. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package. Organizations are encouraged 

to submit applications to FAS through 

the Unified Export Strategy (UES) 

application Internet Web site. 

Applicants also have the option of 

submitting electronic versions in the 

UES format (along with two paper 

copies) of their applications to FAS on 

diskette. However, UES format is not 

required. 

Applicants planning to use the UES 

Internet-based system must contact the 

FAS Program Policy Staff on (202) 720–

4327 to obtain site access information 

including a user ID and password. The 

UES Internet-based application, 

including a Help file containing step-bystep instructions for its use, may be 

found at the following URL address: 

http://www.fas.usda.gov/ 

cooperators.html. 

Applicants who choose to submit 

applications on diskette can obtain an 

application format at the following URL 

address: http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/ 

programs/qsp_appl.html. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission. To be considered for QSP, 

an applicant must submit to FAS 

information detailed in this notice. In 

addition, in accordance with the Office 

of Management and Budget’s issuance of 

a final policy (68 FR 38402) regarding 

the need to identify entities that are 

receiving government awards, all 

applicants must submit a Dun and 

Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number. An applicant 

may request a DUNS number at no cost 

by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS 

number request line at 1–866–705–5711. 

Incomplete applications and 

applications which do not otherwise 

conform to this announcement will not 

be accepted for review. 

FAS recommends that proposals 

contain, a a minimum, the following (a) 

Organizational information, including: 

• Organization’s name, address, Chief 

Executive Officer (or designee), Federal 

Tax Identification Number (TIN), and 

DUNS number; 

• Type of organization; 

• Name, telephone number, fax 

number, and e-mail address of the 

primary contact person; 

• A description of the organization 

and its membership; 

• A description of the organization’s 

prior export promotion experience; and 

• A description of the organization’s 

experience in implementing an 

appropriate trade/technical assistance 

component. 

(b) Market information, including: 

• An assessment of the market; 

• A long-term strategy in the market; 

and 

• U.S. export value/volume and 

market share (historic and goals) for 

2002–2007; 

(c) Project information, including: 

• A brief project title; 

• Amount of funding requested; 

• A brief description of the specific 

market development trade constraint or 

opportunity to be addressed by the 

project, performance measures for the 

years 2007–2009 which will be used to 

measure the effectiveness of the project, 

a benchmark performance measure for 

2005, the viability of long term sales to 

this market, the goals of the project, and 

the expected benefits to the represented 

industry; 

• A description of the activities 

planned to address the constraint or 

opportunity, including how the sample 

will be used in the end-use performance 

trial, the attributes of the sample to be 

demonstrated and its end-use benefit, 

and details of the trade/technical 

servicing component (including who 

will provide and who will fund this 

component); 

• A sample description (i.e., 

commodity, quantity, quality, type, and 

grade), including a justification for 

selecting a sample with such 

characteristics (this justification should 

explain in detail why the project could 

not be effective with a smaller sample); 

• An itemized list of all estimated 

costs associated with the project for 

which reimbursement will be sought; 

and 

• The importer’s rule in the project 

regarding handling and processing the 

commodity sample; and 

(d) Information indicating all funding 

sources and amounts to be contributed 

by each entity that will supplement 

implementation of the proposed project. 

This may include the organization that 

submitted the proposal, private industry 

entities, host governments, foreign third 

parties, CCC, FAS, or other Federal 

agencies. Contributed resources may 

include cash or goods and services. 

3. Submission Dates and Times. All 

applications must be received by 5 p.m. 

Eastern Standard Time, February 12, 

2007. Applications received after this 

date will be considered only if funds are 

still available. 

4. Funding Restrictions. Proposals 

which request more than $75,000 of 

CCC funding for individual projects will 

not be considered. Projects comprised of 

technical preparation seminars will be 

limited to $15,000 in QSP funding. CCC 

will not reimburse expenditures made 

prior to approval of a proposal or 

unreasonable expenditures. 

5. Other Submission Requirements. 

All applications on diskette (with two 

accompanying paper copies) and any 

other form of application must be 

received by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 7 / Thursday, January 11, 2007 / Notices 1311 

Time, February 12, 2007, at one of the 

following addresses: 

Hand Delivery (including FedEx, 

UPS, etc.): U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Program Policy Staff, Portals 

Office Building, Suite 400, 1250 

Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 

DC 20024. 

U.S. Postal Delivery: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Program Policy Staff, STOP 

1042, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., 

Washington, DC 20250-1042. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria. FAS will use the following 

criteria in evaluating proposals: 

• The ability of the organization to 

provide an experienced staff with the 

requisite technical and trade experience 

to execute the proposal; 

• The extent to which the proposal is 

targeted to a market in which the United 

States is generally competitive; 

• The potential for expanding 

commercial sales in the proposed 

market; 

• The nature of the specific market 

constraint or opportunity involved and 

how well it is addressed by the 

proposal; 

• The extent to which the importer’s 

contribution in terms of handling and 

processing enhances the potential 

outcome of the project; 

• The amount of reimbursement 

requested and the organization’s 

willingness to contribute resources, 

including cash and goods and services 

of the U.S. industry and foreign third 

parties; and 

• How well the proposed technical 

assistance component assures that 

performance trials will effectively 

demonstrate the intended end-use 

benefit. 

Highest priority for funding under this 

announcement will be given to 

meritorious proposals that target 

countries meeting either of the 

following criteria: 

• Per capita income less than $10,725 

(the ceiling on upper middle income 

economies as determined by the World 

Bank [World Development Indicators; 

July 2006]); and population greater than 

1 million. Proposals may address 

suitable regional groupings, for 

example, the islands of the Caribbean 

Basin; or 

• U.S. market share of imports of the 

commodity identified in the proposal of 

10 percent or less. 

2. Review and Selection Process. 

Proposals will be evaluated by the 

applicable FAS Commodity Branches in 

the Market Development and Grants 

Management Division. The Commodity 

Branches will review each proposal 

against the factors described above. The 

purpose of this review is to identify 

meritorious proposals, recommend an 

appropriate funding level for each 

proposal based upon these factors, and 

submit the proposals and funding 

recommendations to the Deputy 

Administrator, Office of Trade 

Programs. 

3. Anticipated Announcement Date. 

Announcements of funding decisions 

for QSP are anticipated during May 

2007. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices. FAS will notify 

each applicant in writing of the final 

disposition of its application. FAS will 

send an approval letter and agreement 

to each approved applicant. The 

approval letter and agreement will 

specify the terms and conditions 

applicable to the project, including the 

levels of QSP funding and any costshare contribution requirements. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements. The agreements will 

incorporate the details of each project as 

approved by FAS. Each agreement will 

identify terms and conditions pursuant 

to which CCC will reimburse certain 

costs of each project. Agreements will 

also outline the responsibilities of the 

participant, including, but not limited 

to, procurement (or arranging for 

procurement) of the commodity sample 

at a fair market price, arranging for 

transportation of the commodity sample 

within the time limit specified in the 

agreement (organizations should 

endeavor to ship commodities within 6 

months of effective date of agreement), 

compliance with cargo preference 

requirements (shipment on United 

States flag vessels, as required), 

compliance with the Fly America Act 

requirements (shipment on United 

States air carriers, as required), timely 

and effective implementation of 

technical assistance, and submission of 

a written evaluation report within 90 

days of expiration of the agreement. 

QSP agreements are subject to review 

and verification by the FAS 

Compliance, Security and Emergency 

Planning Division. Upon request, a QSP 

participant shall provide to CCC the 

original documents which support the 

participant’s reimbursement claims. 

CCC may deny a claim for 

reimbursement if the claim is not 

supported by adequate documentation. 

3. Reporting. A written evaluation 

report must be submitted within 90 days 

of the expiration of each participant’s 

QSP agreement. Evaluation reports 

should address all performance 

measures that were presented in the 

proposal. 

VII. Agency Contact(s) 

For additional information and 

assistance, contact the Program Policy 

Staff, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Portals 

Office Building, Suite 400, Stop 1042, 

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024, phone: (202) 

720–4327, fax: (202) 720–9361, e-mail: 

ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov. 

Signed at Washington, DC on December 28, 

2006. 

W. Kirk Miller, 

Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, and Vice President, Commodity 

Credit Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 07–57 Filed 1–10–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Funds Availability; Inviting 

Applications for the Technical 

Assistance for Specialty Crops 

Program 

Announcement Type: New. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.604. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) announces the 

availability of funding for the 2007 

Technical Assistance for Specialty 

Crops (TASC) Program. The intended 

effect of this notice is to solicit 

applications from the private sector and 

from government agencies for 

participation in the FY 2007 TASC 

Program. The TASC Program is 

administered by personnel of the 

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). 

DATES: See paragraph IV.3 below for a 

detailed description of relevant dates. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Entities wishing to apply for funding 

assistance should contact the Program 

Policy Staff, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Portals Office Building, Suite 400, 1250 

Maryland Avenue, Stop 1042, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024, phone: (202) 

720–4327, fax: (202) 720–9361, e-mail: 

ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov. Information is 

also available on the Foreign 

Agricultural Service Web site at http:// 

www.fas.usda.gov/mos/tasc.asp. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Authority: The TASC Program is 

authorized by section 3205 of Pub. L. 

107–171. TASC regulations appear at 7 

CFR part 1487. 


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