USDA to receive fiscal 2006 trade help requests starting Aug. 15

USDA to receive fiscal 2006 trade help requests starting Aug. 15    Starting Aug. 15, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service will begin accepting Trade Adjustment Assistance petitions for fiscal 2006.
   Farmers and fishermen must submit their petitions to the agency by no later than Jan. 31.
   The 2002 Trade Act established the program to provide technical help and cash benefits to farmers and qualified fishermen. The legislation authorizes an appropriation of up to $90 million for each fiscal year — 2003 to 2007 — to carry out the program.
   Once the agency approves a agricultural commodity group’s request, a determination will be made to verify that the most recent marketing year price for the commodity produced by the group is less than 80 percent of the average of the national average prices for the previous five marketing years, and that increases in imports of a like or directly competitive product significantly contributed to the decline in price.
   If these conditions are met, the Foreign Agricultural Service administrator will certify the group as eligible for trade adjustment assistance. Once a petition has been certified, eligible producers have 90 days to contact the USDA’s Farm Service Agency for the assistance.
   For more information about the program, contact Jean-Louis Pajot, USDA’s coordinator of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers program, at (202) 720-2916.