191 
‘‘(3) expand international trade in United States agricultural com-
modities and products and develop, maintain, and expand markets for 
United States agricultural exports; 
‘‘(4) improve the efficiency of administration of both the commodity 
purchasing and selling activities and the ocean transportation activities 
associated with export programs sponsored by the Secretary; 
‘‘(5) stimulate and promote the agricultural and maritime industries 
of the United States and encourage cooperative efforts by both indus-
tries to address their common problems; and 
‘‘(6) provide for the appropriate disposition of these findings and 
purposes. 
‘‘§ 55312. Determining prevailing world market price 
‘‘(a) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES
AND PRODUCTS.—The prevailing 
world market price for agricultural commodities or their products shall be 
determined under this subchapter under procedures prescribed by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture. The Secretary shall prescribe the procedures by regu-
lation, with notice and opportunity for public comment under section 553 
of title 5. 
‘‘(b) SERVICES
AND NON-AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES
AND PROD-
UCTS.—If a determination of the prevailing world market price of any other 
type of materials, goods, equipment, or service is required to determine 
whether a barter or exchange transaction is subject to section 55314(b)(6) 
or (7) of this title, the determination shall be made by the Secretary of Ag-
riculture in consultation with the heads of other appropriate agencies. 
‘‘§ 55313. Exemption of certain agricultural exports from 
cargo preference provisions 
‘‘Sections 55304 and 55305 of this title do not apply to export activities 
of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Commodity Credit Corporation under 
which— 
‘‘(1) agricultural commodities or their products acquired by the Cor-
poration are made available to United States exporters, users, proc-
essors, or foreign purchasers for the purpose of developing, maintain-
ing, or expanding export markets for United States agricultural com-
modities or their products at prevailing world market prices; 
‘‘(2) payments are made available to United States exporters, users, 
or processors or, except as provided in section 55314 of this title, cash 
grants are made available to foreign purchasers, for the purpose de-
scribed in paragraph (1); 
‘‘(3) commercial credit guarantees are blended with direct credits 
from the Corporation to reduce the effective rate of interest on export 
sales of United States agricultural commodities or their products; 
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192 
‘‘(4) credit or credit guarantees for not more than 3 years are ex-
tended by the Corporation to finance or guarantee export sales of 
United States agricultural commodities or their products; or 
‘‘(5) agricultural commodities or their products owned or controlled 
by or under loan from the Corporation are exchanged or bartered for 
materials, goods, equipment, or services at least equal in value to the 
agricultural commodities or their products for which they are ex-
changed or bartered (determined on the basis of prevailing world mar-
ket prices at the time of the exchange or barter), but this paragraph 
does not exempt from the cargo preference provisions referred to in 
section 55314(b) of this title any requirement otherwise applicable to 
the materials, goods, equipment, or services imported under the trans-
action. 
‘‘§ 55314. Transportation requirements for certain exports 
sponsored by the Secretary of Agriculture 
‘‘(a) MINIMUM TONNAGE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the requirement under section 
55305 of this title for the transportation of a percentage of gross ton-
nage on commercial vessels of the United States, 25 percent of the 
gross tonnage of agricultural commodities or their products specified in 
subsection (b) shall be transported each calendar year on commercial 
vessels of the United States that— 
‘‘(A) are necessary for national security; and 
‘‘(B) if more than 25 years old, were rebuilt within the last 5 
years and certified by the Secretary of Transportation as having 
a useful life of at least 5 years after that rebuilding. 
‘‘(2) CALENDAR YEAR.—To provide for effective and equitable ad-
ministration of the cargo preference laws, the calendar year for the 
purpose of compliance with minimum percentage requirements is the 
12-month period beginning October 1 of each year. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABLE EXPORT ACTIVITY.—This section applies to export ac-
tivity (except inspection or weighing activities, other activities carried out 
for health or safety, or technical assistance provided in the handling of com-
mercial transactions) of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Commodity 
Credit Corporation— 
‘‘(1) carried out under the Agricultural Trade Development and As-
sistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.); 
‘‘(2) carried out under section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 
(7 U.S.C. 1431); 
‘‘(3) carried out under the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act (7 
U.S.C. 1736f–1); 
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‘‘(4) under which agricultural commodities or their products are— 
‘‘(A) donated through foreign governments or private or public 
agencies, including intergovernmental organizations; or 
‘‘(B) sold for foreign currencies or for dollars on credit terms 
of more than 10 years; 
‘‘(5) under which agricultural commodities or their products are 
made available for emergency food relief at less than prevailing world 
market prices; 
‘‘(6) under which a cash grant is made directly or through an inter-
mediary to a foreign purchaser to enable the purchaser to obtain 
United States agricultural commodities or their products in an amount 
greater than the difference between the prevailing world market price 
and the United States market price, free along side vessel at a United 
States port; or 
‘‘(7) under which agricultural commodities owned or controlled by or 
under loan from the Corporation are exchanged or bartered for mate-
rials, goods, equipment, or services produced in foreign countries, ex-
cept export activities described in section 55313(5) of this title. 
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICATION OF SECTION 55305.—The requirement for trans-
portation on vessels of the United States under subsection (a) is sub-
ject to the same terms and conditions as provided in section 55305 of 
this title. 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF COMMODITIES.—Subject to paragraph (3), in 
carrying out this section and section 55305 of this title, the Corpora-
tion shall take steps necessary and practicable, and consistent with this 
section and section 55305, without detriment to any port range to allo-
cate, on the principle of lowest landed cost without regard to the coun-
try of registry of the vessel, 25 percent of the bagged, processed, or 
fortified commodities provided under title II of the Agricultural Trade 
Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.). 
‘‘(3) CALCULATIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (2), first there 
shall be calculated the allocation of 100 percent of the quantity to be 
procured on an overall lowest landed cost basis without regard to the 
country of registry of the vessel, and then there shall be allocated to 
the Great Lakes port range any cargoes for which it has the lowest 
landed cost under that calculation. The requirements for transportation 
on vessels of the United States under this section and section 55305 
of this title do not apply to commodities allocated to the Great Lakes 
port range under paragraph (2). Commodities allocated to the Great 
Lakes port range under paragraph (2) may not be reallocated or di-
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verted to another port range to meet those requirements to the extent 
that the total tonnage of commodities to which paragraph (2) applies 
that is furnished and transported from the Great Lakes port range is 
less than 25 percent of the total annual tonnage of the commodities 
furnished. 
‘‘(4) AWARDING CONTRACTS.—In awarding a contract for the trans-
portation by vessel of commodities from the Great Lakes port range 
pursuant to an export activity referred to in subsection (b), an agen-
cy— 
‘‘(A) shall consider expressions of freight interest for any vessel 
from a vessel operator who meets reasonable requirements for fi-
nancial and operational integrity; and 
‘‘(B) may not deny award of the contract to a person based on 
the type of vessel on which the transportation would be provided 
(including on the basis that the transportation would not be pro-
vided on a liner vessel, as that term is used in the Shipping Act 
of 1984, as in effect on November 14, 1995), if the person other-
wise satisfies reasonable requirements for financial and operational 
integrity. 
‘‘(5) NONAVAILABILITY OF VESSELS.—A determination of nonavail-
ability of vessels of the United States resulting from the application of 
this subsection may not reduce the gross tonnage of commodities re-
quired by this section and section 55305 of this title to be transported 
on vessels of the United States. 
‘‘§ 55315. Minimum tonnage 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘base period’ means the 5- 
year period running from the sixth through the second prior fiscal years. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—For each fiscal year, the minimum quantity of ag-
ricultural commodities to be exported under programs subject to section 
55314 of this title is the average of the tonnage exported under those pro-
grams during the base period, discarding the high and low years. 
‘‘(c) WAIVERS.—The President may waive the minimum quantity for a 
fiscal year under this section if the President determines and reports to 
Congress, together with reasons, that the quantity cannot be used effectively 
for the purposes of those programs or, based on a certification by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, that the commodities are not available for reasons 
that include the unavailability of funds. 
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