[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 29 (Monday, February 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9818-9820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-3571]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service


Section 108 Foreign Currency Program

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Foreign Agricultural Service invites proposals from 
interested parties to use certain foreign currencies acquired by the 
United States for activities to expand markets for U.S. agricultural 
commodities and for technical assistance activities. All proposal 
submitted under the UES must be received by 5 pm Eastern Standard Time, 
March 12, 2001.

DATES: All proposals submitted under the UES must be received by 5 pm 
Eastern Standard Time, March 12, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Marketing Operations Staff, 
Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 
1042, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-1042, (202) 
720-4327.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) will use available 
currencies of Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Tunisia, to 
provide assistance in the implementation of market development and 
agricultural technical assistance activities. This use of foreign 
currencies is commonly referred to as the ``Section 108 foreign 
currency program.'' These foreign currencies were acquired by USDA 
pursuant to agreements made under Title I of the Agricultural Trade 
Development and Assistance Act of 1954, (Pub. L. 480).
    Title I, Pub. L. 480 authorizes the U.S. government to finance the 
sale and exportation of agricultural commodities to foreign governments 
on concessional terms. Between 1986 and 1991, the U.S. entered into 
various Title I, Pub. L. 480 agreements with foreign governments, on 
terms which allowed repayment to the United States in local currencies. 
Pub. L. 480 authorizes the U.S. government to use these foreign 
currencies to implement market development and agricultural technical 
assistance activities.
    This announcement supersedes all previous announcements regarding 
this program. On July 8, 1998, FAS published a notice in the Federal 
Register (63 FR 36872) inviting proposals to use Tunisian or Moroccan 
currencies for market development projects and technical assistance

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activities. On October 1, 1998, FAS published a notice in the Federal 
Register (63 FR 52677) inviting proposals to use currencies of Costa 
Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Jamaica, or Sri Lanka for market 
development projects and activities.
    The currencies of Guatemala, Morocco, and Sri Lanka, which were 
available under the previous announcements, are no longer available. 
Consequently, FAS is now limiting new proposals to those which involve 
the use of currencies of Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, or 
Tunisia for market development projects or technical assistance 
activities.
    FAS must disburse local currencies to program participants, through 
the disbursing officer in the U.S. embassy in the country of origin. 
That is, FAS may not convert the local currency to any other currency 
prior to disbursement. Activities funded with Section 108 currencies 
are not limited to the country where the currency originated. It is the 
responsibility of the recipient to arrange for receiving and using the 
foreign currencies made available, or converting the funds to other 
currencies. At the time of this announcement, approximately 750,000,000 
Costa Rica colones; 200,000,000 Dominican Republic pesos; 500,000,000 
Jamaica dollars; and 12,000,000 Tunisia dinars are available.

Proposal Process

    This notice is complemented by concurrent notices announcing four 
other foreign market development programs administered by FAS, 
including the Market Access Program (MAP), the Foreign Market 
Development Cooperator (Cooperator) Program, the Emerging Markets 
Program, and the Quality Samples Program (QSP). The MAP and Cooperator 
Program notices detail a Unified Export Strategy (UES) application 
process which provides a means for interested applicants to submit a 
consolidated and strategically coordinated single proposal that 
incorporates funding requests for any or all of these programs. Some 
applicants to the Section 108 foreign currency program, particularly 
those who are applying for funding under more than one program, may 
wish to use the UES application process. The Internet-based UES 
application, including step-by-step instructions for its use, is 
located at the following URL address: http://www.fas.usda.gov/cooperators.html. Other applicants, particularly those who are applying 
for funding only under the Section 108 foreign currency program, should 
follow the application procedures contained in this notice. Interested 
applicants that are unsure of how to apply are urged to contact the 
Marketing Operations Staff at the address or phone number above.
    FAS recommends that proposals to participate in the Section 108 
foreign currency program contain, at a minimum, the following:
    (a) Organizational information, including:
    <bullet> Organization's name, address, Chief Executive Officer (or 
designee), and Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN);
    <bullet> Type of organization, e.g., corporation, non-profit 
organization;
    <bullet> Name, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of 
the primary contact person;
    <bullet> If a trade organization, a description of the organization 
and its membership;
    <bullet> A description of the organization's prior export promotion 
experience; and
    <bullet> A description of the organization's experience in 
implementing a trade or technical assistance activity;
    (b) Market information, including:
    <bullet> An assessment of the targeted market;
    <bullet> A long-term strategy in the market; and
    <bullet> U.S. export value/volume and market share data and goals 
for 1998-2003;
    (c) Project information, including:
    <bullet> A brief project title;
    <bullet> Request for funding in one of the available foreign 
currencies;
    <bullet> A brief description of the specific market development 
trade constraint to be addressed by the project, performance measures 
for the years 2001-2003 which will be used to measure the effectiveness 
of the project, a benchmark performance measure for 2000, the viability 
of long term sales to this market, the goals of the project, and the 
expected benefits to the represented industry;
    <bullet> A method for evaluating and reporting results;
    <bullet> A description of the activities planned to address the 
constraint; and
    <bullet> An itemized list of all estimated costs associated with 
each project activity for which reimbursement will be sought;
    (d) Information indicating all funding sources and amounts to be 
contributed by each entity that will contribute to implementation of 
the proposed project. This may include the organization that submitted 
the proposal, private industry entities, host governments, foreign 
third parties, Commodity Credit Corporation, FAS, or other Federal 
agencies. Contributed resources may include cash, goods, and services;
    (e) A completed Standard Form 424 (SF-424). This form is available 
on the Internet via the Section 108 fact sheet at the following URL 
address: http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/108/108fact.htm, or by calling the 
contact listed above.

Review Process and Allocation Criteria

    FAS will provide financial assistance under this program on a 
competitive basis and applications will be reviewed against the 
evaluation criteria contained herein. FAS will consider the following 
factors when evaluating proposals:
    <bullet> The ability of the organization to provide an experienced 
staff with the requisite technical and trade expertise to execute the 
proposal;
    <bullet> The funding request and the organization's willingness to 
contribute resources, including cash, goods and services of the U.S. 
industry and foreign third parties;
    <bullet> The conditions or constraints affecting the level of U.S. 
exports and market share for the agricultural commodities and products;
    <bullet> The degree to which the proposed project is likely to 
contribute to the creation, expansion, or maintenance of the targeted 
foreign market; and
    <bullet> The degree to which the organization's proposal is 
coordinated with other private or U.S. government-funded market 
development projects.
    Proposals will be evaluated by the applicable FAS commodity 
division. The divisions will recommend funding levels for each 
applicant based on a review of the applications against the factors 
described above. The purpose of this review is to identify meritorious 
proposals and to suggest an appropriate funding level for each 
application based upon these factors.
    Meritorious proposals will then be reviewed by representatives of 
each FAS program area for the purpose of allocating available funds 
among the applicants. FAS will allocate funds according to the 
following criteria.
    First priority consideration will be given to proposals which 
target the growth markets listed below. These developing markets 
account for a significant share of world imports of major farm 
commodities and much of the projected long-term growth in global import 
demand. As such, they are expected to be among the most supportive of 
USDA's primary export objective of increasing the U.S. share of world 
agricultural trade.
    First priority growth markets for allocation of Section 108 funds: 
Brazil, countries in Central America and the Caribbean Basin, China, 
India, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, 
Tunisia, and Turkey.

[[Page 9820]]

    Second priority consideration will be given to proposals which 
target other markets where growth prospects for the relevant 
agricultural product are high. These proposals would serve to open new 
markets or bring about substantial growth in existing markets.
    In all cases, preference is given to nonprofit U.S. agricultural 
trade organizations that represent an entire industry or are nationwide 
in membership and scope.
    Note: FAS generally reviews Section 108 proposals on a quarterly 
basis (in January, April, July, and October.) However, FAS may also 
consider proposals on an accelerated basis if an urgent marketing 
opportunity becomes available. FAS will evaluate such proposals 
according to the criteria specified in this notice. Details concerning 
the accelerated review can be obtained from the Section 108 fact sheet 
on the Internet at the following URL address: http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/108/108fact.htm or by calling the contact listed above.

Agreements

    Following approval of a proposal, FAS will enter into an agreement 
with the organization that submitted the proposal. Agreements will 
incorporate the project details as approved by FAS and specify any 
other terms and conditions applicable to project funding. Agreements 
include the maximum amount of funds, in local currencies rather than 
U.S. dollars, which may be made available for a participant's approved 
activities. All agreements with non-profit organizations under this 
program are administered under 7 CFR 3019--Uniform Administrative 
Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements with Institutions of 
Higher Education, Hospitals, and other Non-profit Organizations.

Submission of Proposals

    Proposals may be submitted on a continuous basis. However, all 
Internet-based Section 108 proposals (using the UES application) must 
be properly submitted by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, March 12, 2001, 
because the UES entry website closes at that time. Signed certification 
statements must be delivered to one of the addresses listed below.
    All proposals on diskette (with two accompanying paper copies and a 
signed certification statement) and any other proposals must be 
delivered to one of the following addresses:
    Hand Delivery (including FedEx, DHL, etc.): U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, Marketing Operations Staff, 
Room 4932-S, 14th and Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-
1042.
    U.S. Postal Delivery: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign 
Agricultural Service, Marketing Operations Staff, STOP 1042, 1400 
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-1042.

    Dated: January 31, 2001.
Mattie R. Sharpless,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. 01-3571 Filed 2-9-01; 8:45 am]
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