I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1706 

To provide for assistance to United States exporters of certain fruits and 

vegetables in order to ensure better access to foreign markets. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2007 

Mr. NUNES (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in 

addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and Homeland Security, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for assistance to United States exporters of certain fruits and vegetables in order to ensure better access 

to foreign markets. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Spe5 cialty Crop Export Opportunities Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REGULATION OF EXPORTS OF PLANTS, PLANT 

2 PRODUCTS, BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ORGA3 NISMS, AND NOXIOUS WEEDS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Agri5 cultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7701 et 

6 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 420. REGULATION OF EXPORTS OF PLANTS, PLANT 

9 PRODUCTS, BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ORGA10 NISMS, AND NOXIOUS WEEDS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may regulate 

12 plants, plant products, biological control organisms, and 

13 noxious weeds for export purposes. 

14 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) coordinate fruit and vegetable market 

16 analyses with the private sector and the Adminis17 trator of the Foreign Agricultural Service; and 

18 ‘‘(2) make publicly available on an Internet 

19 website— 

20 ‘‘(A) the status of all export petitions; 

21 ‘‘(B) to the greatest extent possible, an ex22 planation of the sanitary or phytosanitary 

23 issues associated with each pending export peti24 tion; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) to the greatest extent possible, infor2 mation on the import requirements of foreign 

3 countries for fruits and vegetables. 

4 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue regu5 lations to implement this section.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

7 section 1(b) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 note) is amended 

8 by inserting after the item relating to section 419 the fol9 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 420. Regulation of exports of plants, plant products, biological control organisms, and noxious weeds.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF IMPORT AND ENTRY AGRICUL11 TURAL INSPECTION FUNCTIONS TO THE DE12 PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

13 (a) REPEAL OF TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—Section 

14 421 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) 

15 is repealed. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO FUNCTION OF

17 SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Section 402 of 

18 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 202) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by striking paragraph (7); and 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para22 graph (7). 

23 (c) TRANSFER AGREEMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the effective 

2 date described in subsection (g), the Secretary of 

3 Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

4 shall enter into an agreement to effectuate the re5 turn of functions required by the amendments made 

6 by this section. 

7 (2) USE OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.—The agree8 ment may include authority for the Secretary of Ag9 riculture to use employees of the Department of 

10 Homeland Security to carry out authorities dele11 gated to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

12 Service regarding the protection of domestic live13 stock and plants. 

14 (d) RESTORATION OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRI15 CULTURE EMPLOYEES.—Not later than the effective date 

16 described in subsection (e), all full-time equivalent posi17 tions of the Department of Agriculture transferred to the 

18 Department of Homeland Security under section 421(g) 

19 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231(g)) 

20 (as in effect on the day before the effective date described 

21 in subsection (g)) shall be restored to the Department of 

22 Agriculture. 

23 (e) AUTHORITY OF APHIS.— 

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Sec25 retary of Agriculture shall establish within the AniVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:30 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706

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1 mal and Plant Health Inspection Service a program, 

2 to be known as the ‘‘International Agricultural In3 spection Program’’, under which the Administrator 

4 of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

5 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’) shall carry out import and entry agricul7 tural inspections. 

8 (2) INFORMATION GATHERING AND INSPEC9 TIONS.—In carrying out the program under para10 graph (1), the Administrator shall have full access 

11 to— 

12 (A) each secure area of any terminal for 

13 screening passengers or cargo under the control 

14 of the Department of Homeland Security on the 

15 day before the date of enactment of this Act for 

16 purposes of carrying out inspections and gath17 ering information; and 

18 (B) each database (including any database 

19 relating to cargo manifests or employee and 

20 business records) under the control of the De21 partment of Homeland Security on the day be22 fore the date of enactment of this Act for pur23 poses of gathering information. 


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1 (3) INSPECTION ALERTS.—The Administrator 

2 may issue inspection alerts, including by indicating 

3 cargo to be held for immediate inspection. 

4 (4) INSPECTION USER FEES.—The Adminis5 trator may, as applicable— 

6 (A) continue to collect any agricultural 

7 quarantine inspection user fee; and 

8 (B) administer any reserve account for the 

9 fees. 

10 (5) CAREER TRACK PROGRAM.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

12 shall establish a program, to be known as the 

13 ‘‘import and entry agriculture inspector career 

14 track program’’, to support the development of 

15 long-term career professionals with expertise in 

16 import and entry agriculture inspection. 

17 (B) STRATEGIC PLAN AND TRAINING.—In 

18 carrying out the program under this paragraph, 

19 the Administrator, in coordination with the Sec20 retary of Agriculture, shall— 

21 (i) develop a strategic plan to incor22 porate import and entry agricultural in23 spectors into the infrastructure protecting 

24 food, fiber, forests, bioenergy, and the en25 vironment of the United States from aniVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:30 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706

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1 mal and plant pests, diseases, and noxious 

2 weeds; and 

3 (ii) as part of the plan under clause 

4 (i), provide training for import and entry 

5 agricultural inspectors participating in the 

6 program not less frequently than once each 

7 year to improve inspection skills. 

8 (f) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

10 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

11 shall— 

12 (A) develop standard operating procedures 

13 for inspection, monitoring, and auditing relating 

14 to import and entry agricultural inspections, in 

15 accordance with recommendations from the 

16 Comptroller General of the United States and 

17 reports of interagency advisory groups, as appli18 cable; and 

19 (B) ensure that the Animal and Plant 

20 Health Inspection Service has a national elec21 tronic system with real-time tracking capability 

22 for monitoring, tracking, and reporting inspec23 tion activities of the Service. 

24 (2) FEDERAL AND STATE COOPERATION.— 


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1 (A) COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.—The Sec2 retary shall develop and maintain an integrated, 

3 real-time communication system with respect to 

4 import and entry agricultural inspections to 

5 alert State departments of agriculture of sig6 nificant inspection findings of the Animal and 

7 Plant Health Inspection Service. 

8 (B) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

9 (i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

10 shall establish a committee, to be known as 

11 the ‘‘International Trade Inspection Advi12 sory Committee’’ (referred to in this sub13 paragraph as the ‘‘committee’’), to advise 

14 the Secretary on policies and other issues 

15 relating to import and entry agricultural 

16 inspection. 

17 (ii) MODEL.—In establishing the com18 mittee, the Secretary shall use as a model 

19 the Agricultural Trade Advisory Com20 mittee. 

21 (iii) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee 

22 shall be composed of members rep23 resenting— 

24 (I) State departments of agri25 culture; 


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1 (II) directors of ports and air2 ports in the United States; 

3 (III) the transportation industry; 

4 (IV) the public; and 

5 (V) such other entities as the 

6 Secretary determines to be appro7 priate. 

8 (3) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 

9 each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

10 report containing an assessment of— 

11 (A) the resource needs for import and 

12 entry agricultural inspection, including the 

13 number of inspectors required; 

14 (B) the adequacy of— 

15 (i) inspection and monitoring proce16 dures and facilities in the United States; 

17 and 

18 (ii) the strategic plan developed under 

19 subsection (e)(5)(B)(i); and 

20 (C) new and potential technologies and 

21 practices, including recommendations regarding 

22 the technologies and practices, to improve im23 port and entry agricultural inspection. 

24 (4) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall pay the 

25 costs of each import and entry agricultural inspector 


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1 employed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspec2 tion Service— 

3 (A) from amounts made available to the 

4 Department of Agriculture for the applicable 

5 fiscal year; or 

6 (B) if amounts described in subparagraph 

7 (A) are unavailable, from amounts of the Com8 modity Credit Corporation. 

9 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section take effect on the date that is 180 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 4. REPORTS OF TRADE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

13 Whenever the Agricultural Policy Committee on 

14 Trade or the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee 

15 on Trade in Fruits and Vegetables, established under sec16 tion 135 of the Trade Act of 1974, provides any rec17 ommendations to the United States Trade Representative, 

18 that committee shall at the same time provide those rec19 ommendations to the Committee on Agriculture and the 

20 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep21 resentatives and to the Committee on Agriculture and the 

22 Committee on Finance of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT ON FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE 

2 STAFFING LEVELS FOR MONITORING OTHER 

3 COUNTRIES’ COMPLIANCE WITH TRADE 

4 AGREEMENTS. 

5 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

7 to Congress a report— 

8 (1) evaluating the ability of the Foreign Agri9 cultural Service to adequately monitor other coun10 tries’ compliance with the terms of the Uruguay 

11 Round Agreements and the terms of other agree12 ments (including NAFTA and other bilateral agree13 ments) to ensure that the United States realizes the 

14 full benefits of these agreements as they relate to 

15 agricultural commodities; and 

16 (2) containing the recommending of the Sec17 retary regarding whether current vacancies in the 

18 monitoring office of the Foreign Agricultural Service 

19 should be filled. 

20 SEC. 6. FEASIBILITY REPORT REGARDING EXPORT INDEM21 NIFICATION FOR UNSUBSIDIZED COMMOD22 ITIES. 

23 Not later than January 1, 2008, the Secretary of Ag24 riculture shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the 

25 feasibility and cost of establishing an indemnity program 

26 for exporters of articles classified under chapters 7 and 


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1 8 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 

2 that will provide compensation to those exporters when 

3 they comply fully with United States export and foreign 

4 country import requirements for the articles, but the arti5 cles are wrongfully denied entry into the foreign country. 

6 SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF UNSUBSIDIZED COMMODITIES 

7 UNDER AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE. 

8 The United States Trade Representative shall pro9 pose in the Doha Round of negotiations conducted under 

10 the auspices of the World Trade Organization that all arti11 cles classified under chapters 7 and 8 of the Harmonized 

12 Tariff Schedule of the United States be excluded from cov13 erage under article 13 of the Agreement on Agriculture 

14 referred to in section 101(d)(2) of the Uruguay Round 

15 Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(2)). 

16 SEC. 8. SPECIAL EXPORT CREDIT GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

17 The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish and 

18 maintain a program of export credits that is, as nearly 

19 as may be, identical to the program administered under 

20 sections 1493.400 through 1493.530 of title 7, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations, except that— 

22 (1) either an exporter to, or an importer in, a 

23 foreign place shall be eligible for a credit guarantee; 


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1 (2) the guarantee shall be for a period of 45 

2 days beginning on the date of issuance of the guar3 antee; and 

4 (3) the cost of the guarantee shall not exceed 

5 45 cents for each $100 of coverage purchased. 

6 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION LEVELS FOR EMERGING MARKET 

7 CREDIT PROGRAM. 

8 Section 1542 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

9 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5622 note) is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) in subsections (a) and (d)(1)(A)(i) by strik12 ing ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 

13 (2) in subsections (a) and (d) (1)(H) by strik14 ing $10,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000,000’’. 

15 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) NAFTA.—The term ‘‘NAFTA’’ means the 

18 North American Free Trade Agreement. 

19 (2) URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS.—The term 

20 ‘‘Uruguay Round Agreements’’ means the agree21 ments referred to in section 101(d) of the Uruguay 

22 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)). 

Æ 


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