On Thursday, Rep. Jim Costa (CA-16), a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, introduced H.R.9244, Supporting Market Access to Reinvigorate Trade (SMART) Act of 2022.
The bipartisan bill would increase funding for programs to develop new foreign market opportunities for U.S.-made agricultural goods.
“Opening and growing new markets for American-made products is critical to building our agricultural economy,” said Rep. Costa. “Food is a global security issue, and we must do all we can to reverse disruptions in trade and grow new partnerships that help deliver American products around the world.”
The SMART Act would double the amount of funding to at least $400 million per fiscal year for the Market Access Program (MAP) and at least $69 million per fiscal year for the Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program.
According to Rep. Costa’s press release, the increase in funding would ensure American products are promoted in primary and secondary markets, providing access to new markets for farmers seeking to export products. “The Market Access Program has been used by Potatoes USA very effectively in building demand for U.S. potatoes in vital export markets. Our foreign competitors have their own programs but with significantly more funding. We appreciate these House members trying to level the playing field and hope the next Congress will increase funding for the MAP program in the new Farm Bill,” said Ted Tschirky, NPC Vice President of Trade Affairs The bill was introduced with six original co-sponsors, including U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Cindy Axne (IA-03), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Kim Schrier (WA-08), Tracey Mann (KS-01), and Ashley Hinson (IA-01).