$36 per ton is available. Historic producers are those involved in groundnut production during the period 1998-2001. Eligible production would equal the product of average yield in the baseperiod and 85 percent of base-period acres. These payments are made regardless of current prices or the actual crop planted, so long as the farm remains in approved agricultural uses.

(iii) Producers with a history of groundnut production are also eligible for a new countercyclical payment when market prices are below an established target price of $495 per ton minus the $36 per ton direct payment. The payment rate is the difference between the target price ($495 per ton) minus the direct fixed payment ($36 per ton), and the higher of the 12-month national average market price for the marketing year for groundnut or the marketing assistance loan rate ($355 per short ton). Total counter-cyclical payment to each eligible producer is calculated as the product of the payment acres (85 percent of base acres), the base-year average yield and the payment rate.

(iv) Owners of groundnut quota under the previous legislation receive compensation payments for the loss of quota asset value. Payments may be made in five annual installments of $220 per short ton during fiscal years 2002-06, or the quota owner may opt to take the outstanding payment due in a lump sum. These payments are based on the quota owner’s 2001 quota, so long as the person owned a farm eligible groundnut quota (Wescott, Young, and Price 2002).

Beginning in 1994, under the URAA and NAFTA, the U.S. opened its market to gradually increasing quantities of groundnut imports through a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system. For edible groundnuts, the total TRQ in 2001 was 57,059 metric tons or 4 percent of domestic consumption, allocated to historical importers (e.g., Argentina 77 percent, Mexico 7.4 percent) and then on a first-come, first-serve basis (table 8). In-quota tariffs for edible and prepared groundnuts range between 6.6 to 9.35 cents per kilogram while out-of-the quota tariffs are very high, ranging between 131.8 percent and 163 percent under URAA (Table 9)<sup>7</sup> .

**Table.8. US edible groundnut TRQ allocation Table 9. US over-the-quota tariffs**

|Year|Argentina|Mexico|Other|Total|N|AFTA|URAA|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||URAA TRQ|NAFTA TRQ|URAA TRQ|NAFTA + URAA||Edible &<br>||
||||||Year|Prepared|Prepared|
|1995|26,341|3,478|4,052|33,871||Groundnut|& Peanut Butter|
|1996|29,853|3,582|5,043|38,478|Base|123.1|155|
|1997|33,364|3,690|6,034|43,088|1994|120||
|1998|36,877|3,801|7,024|47,702|1995<br>|116.9<br>|151.1<br>|
|1999|40,388|3,915|8,015|52,318|1996<br>1997|113.9<br>110.8|147.3<br>143.4|
|2000|43,901|4,032|9,005|56,938|1998|107.7|139.5|
|2001|43,901|4,153|9,005|57,059|1999|104.6|135.7|
|2002|43,901|4,278|9,005|57,184|2000<br>2001|93<br>814|131.8<br>1318|
|--|43,901|4,278|9,005|--|2002|.<br>69.8|.<br>131.8|
|2008|43,901|unrestricted|9,005|--|2008|0||

Source: Uruguay Round Agricultural Negotiation, USA, Revised Country Schedule and NAFTA Source: Uruguay Round Agricultural Negotiation, USA, Revised Country Schedule and NAFTA Note: Prepared groundnut = roasted, salted, flavored groun

> 7 The levels of quota and tariff for the period post-2003 are currently under negotiation.

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