Newhouse Applauds Increased Agricultural Trade Promotion Program Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $200 million to 57 organizations through the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) to help U.S. farmers and ranchers identify and access new export markets.
"Secretary Perdue's announcement of increased support for agriculture trade is good news for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation across the nation and in the Pacific Northwest," said Rep. Newhouse. "This increase helps to mitigate some of the losses suffered by local producers. I have been a strong supporter of trade and export market development programs to even the playing field and strengthen American agriculture's ability to compete for international customers."
In the 115th Congress, Rep. Newhouse led 43 members in a bipartisan request to the House Committee on Agriculture expressing strong support for the USDA trade and export market development programs at the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) in the 2018 Farm Bill. The Members requested in a letter that House Agriculture Committee leaders reauthorize the USDA's Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD).
The ATP is one of three USDA programs created to mitigate the effects of unjustified trade retaliation against U.S. farmers and exporters. USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) accepted ATP applications between September 4 and November 2 – totaling nearly $600 million – from U.S. trade associations, cooperatives, and other industry-affiliated organizations. USDA has released a list of the ATP funding recipients. President Donald J. Trump authorized up to $12 billion in programs to provide assistance to U.S. agriculture through a trade mitigation package announced by Secretary Perdue on September 4, 2018. In addition to the $200 million allocated to the ATP, the package also included the Market Facilitation Program to provide payments to farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs, and a food purchase and distribution program to assist producers of targeted commodities.