[Federal Register: January 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 12)]
[Notices]
[Page 2484-2486]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17ja03-27]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Announcement of the Emerging Markets Program
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation is inviting private sector
proposals for the 2003 Emerging Markets Program.
DATES: All proposals must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time,
March 10, 2003. Announcements of funding decisions for the EMP are
anticipated in early July 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marketing Operations Staff, Foreign
Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 4932 South,
STOP 1042, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-1042,
phone: (202) 720-4327, fax: (202) 720-9361, e-mail: emo@fas.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announces that proposals are
being accepted for participation in the 2003 Emerging Markets Program
(EMP). The purpose of the EMP is to assist U.S. organizations, public
and private, to improve market access and to develop and promote U.S.
agricultural products and/or processes in low to middle income
countries that offer promise of emerging market opportunities. This is
to be accomplished by providing, or paying the costs of, approved
technical assistance activities in those emerging markets. The EMP is
administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
The Act defines an emerging market as any country that the
Secretary of Agriculture determines:
(1) Is taking steps toward a market-oriented economy through the
food, agriculture, or rural business sectors of the economy of the
country; and
(2) Has the potential to provide a viable and significant market
for United States agricultural commodities or products of United States
agricultural commodities.
Because funds are limited and the range of potential emerging
market countries is worldwide, proposals for technical assistance
activities will be considered which target those countries with: (1)
Per capita income less than $9,265 (the current ceiling on upper middle
income economies as determined by the World Bank [World Development
Indicators]); and (2) population greater than 1 million. Proposals may
address suitable regional groupings, e.g., the islands of the Caribbean
Basin.
Authority
The EMP is authorized by section 1542 of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, as amended.
Eligible Applicants, Commodities, and Activities
Any United States agricultural or agribusiness organization,
university, or state department of agriculture is eligible to
participate in the EMP. Proposals from research and consulting
organizations will be considered if they provide evidence of
substantial participation by the U.S. industry. U.S. market development
cooperators may seek funding to address priority, market specific
issues and to undertake activities not suitable for funding under other
FAS marketing programs, e.g., the Foreign Market Development Cooperator
(Cooperator) Program and the Market Access Program (MAP).
All agricultural products, except tobacco, are eligible for
consideration. Proposals which include multiple commodities are also
eligible.
Only technical assistance activities are eligible for
reimbursement. Following are examples of the types of activities that
may be funded:
--Projects designed specifically to improve market access in emerging
foreign markets. Examples: activities intended to mitigate the impact
of sudden political events or economic and currency crises in order to
maintain U.S. market share; responses to time-sensitive market
opportunities;
--Marketing and distribution of value-added products, including new
products or uses. Examples: food service development; market research
on potential for consumer-ready foods or new uses of a product;
--Studies of food distribution channels in emerging markets, including
infrastructural impediments to U.S. exports; such studies should be
specific in their focus and may include cross-commodity activities
which address specific problems. Examples: grain storage handling and
inventory systems development; distribution infrastructure development;
--Projects that specifically address various constraints to U.S.
exports, including sanitary and phytosanitary issues and other non-
tariff barriers. Examples: seminars on U.S. food safety standards and
regulations; assessing and addressing pest and disease problems that
inhibit U.S. exports;
--Assessments and follow up activities designed to improve country-wide
food and business systems, to reduce trade barriers, to increase
prospects for U.S. trade and investment in emerging markets, and to
determine the potential use for general export credit guarantees for
commodities, facilities and services. Examples: product needs
assessments and market analysis; assessments for using facilities
credits to address infrastructural impediments;
--Projects that help foreign governments collect and use market
information and develop free trade policies that benefit American
exporters as well as the target country or countries. Examples:
agricultural statistical analysis; development of market information
systems; policy analysis; and,
--Short-term training in broad aspects of agriculture and agribusiness
trade that will benefit U.S. exporters, including seminars and training
at trade shows designed to expand the potential for U.S. agricultural
exports by focusing on the trading system. Examples: retail training;
marketing seminars; transportation seminars; training on opening new or
expanding existing markets.
The program funds technical assistance activities on a project-by-
project basis. EMP funds may not be
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used to support normal operating costs of individual organizations, nor
as a source by which to recover prior expenses from previous or ongoing
projects. Ineligible activities include restaurant promotions; branded
product promotions (including labeling and supplementing normal company
sales activities intended to increase awareness and stimulate sales of
branded products); advertising; administrative and operational expenses
for trade shows; and the preparation and printing of brochures, flyers,
posters, etc., except in connection with specific technical assistance
activities such as training seminars. Other items excluded from funding
are contained in the 2003 Program Guidelines.
Project Suitability and Qualification Requirements
The underlying premise of the EMP is that there are distinctive
characteristics of emerging agricultural markets that necessitate or
benefit significantly from U.S. governmental assistance before the
private sector begins to develop these markets through normal corporate
or trade promotional activities. The emphasis is on marketing
opportunities where there are risks that the private sector would not
normally undertake alone. The EMP is intended to supplement, not
supplant, the efforts of the U.S. private sector, and it complements
the efforts of other FAS marketing programs. Once a market access issue
has been addressed by the EMP, further market development activities
may be considered under other programs such as GSM-102 or GSM-103
Export Credit Guarantee programs, the Facility Guarantee Program, the
Supplier Credit Guarantee Program, the MAP, or the Cooperator Program.
The following marketing criteria will be used to determine the
suitability of projects for funding under the EMP:
1. Low U.S. market share and significant market potential.
[sbull] Is there a significant lag in U.S. market share of a
specific commodity in a given country or countries?
[sbull] Is there an identifiable obstacle or competitive
disadvantage facing U.S. exporters (e.g., competitor financing,
subsidy, competitor market development activity) or a systemic obstacle
to imports of U.S. products (e.g., inadequate distribution,
infrastructure impediments, insufficient information, lack of financing
options or resources)?
[sbull] What is the potential of a project to generate a
significant increase in U.S. agricultural exports in the near- to
medium-term? (Estimates or projections of trade benefits to commodity
exports, and the basis for evaluating such, must be included in EMP
proposals.)
2. Recent change in a market.
[sbull] Is there, for example, a change in a sanitary or
phytosanitary trade barrier; a change in an import regime or the
lifting of a trade embargo; or a shift in the political or financial
situation in a country?
Application Requirements and Process
It is highly recommended that any organization considering applying
to the program first obtain a copy of the 2003 Program Guidelines.
These guidelines contain information on requirements that a proposal
must include in order to be considered for funding under the program,
along with other important information.
Requests for the 2003 Program Guidelines and additional information
may be obtained from the Marketing Operations Staff at the address
above. The guidelines are also available at the following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/em-markets/em-markets.html. To assist FAS
in making determinations regarding funding, applications should be no
longer than ten (10) pages and include the following information: (a)
Date of proposal; (b) name of organization submitting proposal; (c)
organization address, telephone and fax numbers, and tax ID number; (d)
primary contact person; (e) full title of proposal; (f) target
market(s); (g) description of problem(s), i.e., constraint(s), to be
addressed by the project such as inadequate knowledge of the market;
insufficient trade contacts; lack of awareness by foreign officials of
U.S. products and business practices; infrastructure, financing, and
regulatory impediments or other non-tariff barriers; (h) project
objectives; (i) performance measures--benchmarks for quantifying
progress in meeting the objectives; (j) rationale--explanation of the
underlying reasons for the project proposal and its approach, the
anticipated benefits, the current conditions in the target market(s)
affecting the intended commodity or product, and any additional
pertinent analysis; (k) clear demonstration that successful
implementation will benefit a particular industry as a whole, not just
the applicant(s); (l) explanation as to what specifically could not be
accomplished without federal funding assistance and why participating
organization(s) are unlikely to carry out the project without such
assistance; (m) specific description of activity(ies) to be undertaken;
(n) time line(s) for implementation of the project, including start and
end dates (start dates should be after July 15, 2003); (o) information
on whether similar activities are or have previously been funded with
USDA sources in target country/countries (e.g., under MAP and/or
Cooperator Program); (p) detailed line item activity budget. Regarding
the budget, cost items should be allocated separately to each
participating organization. Expense items constituting a proposed
activity's overall budget (e.g., salaries, travel expenses, consultant
fees, administrative costs, etc.), with a line item cost for each,
should be listed, clearly indicating which items are to be covered by
EMP funding, which by the participating U.S. organization(s), and which
by third parties (if applicable). Cost items for individual consultant
fees should show calculation of daily rate and number of days. Cost
items for travel expenses should show number of trips, destinations,
cost, and objective for each trip.
Qualifications of applicant(s) should be included as an attachment.
This notice is complemented by concurrent notices announcing other
foreign market development programs administered by the FAS including
the MAP, the Cooperator Program, the Section 108 Foreign Currency
Program, and the Quality Samples Program. For 2003, EMP applicants have
the opportunity to utilize the Unified Export Strategy (UES)
application process, an online system which provides a means for
interested applicants to submit a consolidated and strategically
coordinated single proposal that incorporates funding requests for any
or all of these programs. Applicants are not required to use the UES,
but are strongly encouraged to do so because it reduces paperwork and
expedites the FAS processing and review cycle.
Applicants planning to use the on-line system must contact the
Marketing Operations Staff at (202) 720-4327 to obtain site access
information. The Internet-based application, including step-by-step
instructions for its use, is located at the following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/cooperators.html. A ``Help'' file is available
to assist applicants with the process. Applicants using the online
system are strongly urged to provide a printed or diskette version of
each proposal (using Word or compatible format) to one of the following
addresses:
Hand Delivery (including FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.): Marketing
Operations Staff, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Room 4932-
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South, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-1042.
U.S. Postal Delivery: Marketing Operations Staff, Foreign
Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 1042, 1400
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-1042.
Allocation of Funds
In general, all qualified proposals received before the application
deadline will compete for EMP funding. The limited funds and the range
of emerging markets worldwide in which the funds may be used preclude
CCC from approving large budgets for individual projects. While there
is no minimum or maximum amount set for EMP-funded projects, most are
funded at a level of less than $500,000 and for a duration of one year
or less. Multi-year proposals may be considered in the context of a
strategic detailed plan of implementation. Funding in such cases is
normally provided one year at a time, with commitments beyond the first
year subject to interim evaluations.
In general, priority consideration will be given to proposals that
identify and seek to address specific problems or constraints in rural
business systems or food and agribusiness systems in emerging markets
through technical assistance activities to expand or maintain U.S.
agricultural exports. Priority will also be given to those proposals
that include the willingness of the applicant to commit its own funds,
or those of the U.S. industry, to seek export opportunities in an
emerging market. The percentage of private funding proposed for a
project will, therefore, be a critical factor in determining which
proposals are funded under the EMP. Proposals will also be judged on
their ability to provide benefits to the organization receiving EMP
funds and to the broader industry which that organization represents.
A performance report detailing the results of each project
supported with EMP funds must be submitted to the Marketing Operations
Staff at the address above. Because public funds are used to support
EMP projects, these reports will be made available to the public.
Complete final financial reports are to accompany performance reports.
Closing Date for Applications
The deadline for all applications to the EMP is 5 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time, March 10, 2003. Announcements of funding decisions for
the EMP are anticipated in early July 2003.
Signed at Washington, DC, on January 8, 2003.
Kenneth J. Roberts,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 03-1120 Filed 1-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P