Agricultural Export Promotion Act of 2018

To offset retaliatory duties against the United States by establishing a fund to promote the exports of United States agricultural commodities and products. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Export Promotion Act of 2018 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The President has made clear his intention to aggressively take actions pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ( 19 U.S.C. 1862 19 U.S.C. 2411 (2) In retaliation, the governments of foreign countries affected by such duty increases have already raised duties on exports of United States agricultural commodities and products, or may do so. (3) Without offsetting actions to increase exports of United States agricultural commodities and products into third-country markets, increased duties on such exports threaten to reduce employment and output in the agricultural sector of the United States economy. 3. United States Agricultural Export Promotion Fund (a) Establishment of fund There is established in the Treasury a fund to be known as the United States Agricultural Export Promotion Fund (b) Transfers to fund The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the United States Agricultural Export Promotion Fund from the general fund of the Treasury an amount equivalent to the amount of duties collected after the date of the enactment of this Act and imposed pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ( 19 U.S.C. 1862 19 U.S.C. 2411 (c) Availability of funds (1) In general Amounts in the United States Agricultural Export Promotion Fund shall be available to the Secretary of Agriculture, without further appropriation, to carry out activities of the Foreign Market Development Program, the Market Access Program, and the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program to promote exports of United States agricultural commodities and products. (2) Priority In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, give priority to promoting exports of agricultural commodities and products of United States businesses that are adversely affected by increases in duties imposed on United States exports by foreign countries in response to increases in duties on imports from such foreign countries pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ( 19 U.S.C. 1862 19 U.S.C. 2411 (3) Additional amounts Amounts made available under this subsection are in addition to amounts otherwise made available for activities of the Foreign Market Development Program, the Market Access Program, and the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program in accordance with the purpose described in paragraph (1).

Summary: Agricultural Export Promotion Act of 2018 This bill establishes the United States Agricultural Export Promotion Fund and requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer to the fund an amount equivalent to certain duties imposed on imported goods under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 or the Trade Act of 1974. The amounts in the fund must be available to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), without further appropriation, for carrying out activities of the Foreign Market Development Program, the Market Access Program, and the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program to promote exports of U.S. agricultural commodities and products. In carrying out this bill, USDA must, to the maximum extent practicable, give priority to promoting exports of agricultural commodities and products of U.S. businesses that are adversely affected by increased duties imposed on U.S. exports by foreign countries in response to increased duties imposed by the United States on imports from the countries.