American Agriculture First Act

To prioritize the purchase of agricultural commodities from domestically owned enterprises, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the American Agriculture First Act 2. Agricultural commodities purchased from domestically owned enterprises (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Agricultural commodity The term agricultural commodity 7 U.S.C. 5602 (2) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress (A) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives; (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; (C) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives; (D) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; (E) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (F) the Committee on Finance of the Senate. (3) Domestically owned enterprise The term domestically owned enterprise (4) Secretary The term Secretary (b) Prioritization (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), if the Secretary determines that a response to trade damage from retaliation by a foreign nation with respect to an agricultural commodity is necessary, the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall purchase from domestically owned enterprises not less than 75 percent of the total quantity of that agricultural commodity purchased under the Food Purchase and Distribution Program. (2) Exception Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the purchase of an agricultural commodity made not less than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary submits to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that explains the reasons that meeting the requirement under paragraph (1)— (A) is not possible because the quantity of the agricultural commodity available from domestically owned enterprises cannot meet the supply needs of the Agricultural Marketing Service; or (B) would result in a greater than 150 percent increase between— (i) the amount necessary to purchase that agricultural commodity; and (ii) the average cost of that agricultural commodity purchased by the Agricultural Marketing Service in the prior 3 years. (3) Publication of awards In publishing the awards made to vendors under the purchase programs carried out by the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Secretary shall include whether the entity receiving such an award is a domestically owned enterprise. (4) WTO obligations The Secretary shall carry out this section consistent with World Trade Organization obligations of the United States. (c) Report required For each 90-day period during which the Secretary purchases 1 or more agricultural commodities as described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes the amount of each agricultural commodity purchased during that period. (d) Sunset The authority under this section shall expire on September 30, 2023.

Summary: American Agriculture First Act This bill requires the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to purchase at least 75% of an agricultural commodity for the Food Purchase and Distribution Program from domestically owned enterprises if it is necessary to respond to trade damage from retaliation by foreign nations with respect to the agricultural commodity. The requirement does not apply if the Department of Agriculture reports to Congress that meeting the requirement is not possible because the quantity of the agricultural commodity available from domestically owned enterprises cannot meet the supply needs of the AMS; or would result in a greater than 150% increase between the amount necessary to purchase the agricultural commodity, and the average cost of the agricultural commodity purchased by the AMS in the prior three years. The authority provided by this bill expires on September 30, 2023.