USDA Announces $200 Million Ag Trade Promotion Awards

Efforts to help the U.S. agriculture sector hit by negative impacts of tariffs enacted by other countries, primarily China, continue at USDA. USDA announced it has awarded $200 million to 57 groups via the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) in a bid to help the sector "mitigate the effects of unjustified trade retaliation against U.S. farmers and exporters." The effort is aimed at helping the organizations receiving the awards find new markets for a host of U.S. agricultural products. USDA took applications from organizations Sept. 2 through Nov. 2, and had originally planned on announcing the awards in early January. However, the partial U.S. government shutdown delayed that announcement until Friday. ATP is part of a $12 billion package the Trump administration announced previously to help the sector cope with impacts of trade tariffs applied to U.S. products by U.S. trading partners. China has been one of the major U.S customers to take such actions and the awards from USDA reflect that -- the American Soybean Association was awarded $21.9 million. Five other organizations received awards of $10 million or more: U.S. Meat Export Federation -- $17.6 million; U.S. Grains Council -- $13.94 million; Food Export USA Northeast -- $13.89 million; Food Export Association of the Midwest USA -- $13.85 million; and the Southern United States Trade Association -- $12.59 million. "At USDA, we are always looking to expand existing markets or open new ones, so we are proud to make good on the third leg of the President's promise to America's farmers," USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in announcing the aid. "This infusion will help us develop other markets and move us away from being dependent on one large customer for our agricultural products. This is seed money, leveraged by hundreds of millions of dollars from the private sector that will help to increase our agricultural exports."