Congress Introduces Legislation to Increase Map and FMD Funds

May 17, 2017
Posted in: News

The Market Access Fund (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Fund (FMD) have funded USDBC’s global marketing programs for decades. Funding for MAP has not increased from $200 million since 2006, and funding for FMD has not increased from $34.5 million since 2002. These programs are critical to U.S. global export development but have come under increasing strain due to sequestration and additional agricultural groups joining the program every year. Both programs are overdue for an increase in order to allow U.S. agricultural products to maintain global competitiveness.

Last week we were encouraged to learn that Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) introduced legislation (H.R. 2321), the Cultivating Revitalization by Expanding American Agricultural Trade and Exports (CREAATE) Act, that would increase funding for MAP to $400 million annually and FMD to $69 million annually, with the increases being phased in over five years. USDBC will continue to promote full funding of both programs through the life of the current Farm Bill and will turn energies, together with other members of the agricultural export community, to support the CREAATE Act in the next Farm Bill. A 2016 study by Texas A&M University found the programs generated a net return of $28.30 for every dollar invested between 1977 and 2014 and have added an annual average of $8.15 billion to the value of American agricultural exports and $8.7 billion to farm cash receipts. Doubling funding coupled with increasing matching funds from 10 to 50 percent would result in average annual gains in GDP of $4.5 to $6 billion under a less than full employment scenario, according to this same study. We will keep our members posted of opportunities to help support this initiative with members of Congress.

 MAP and FMD programs help us compete in the global marketplace at major trade shows like SIAL.

MAP and FMD programs help us compete in the global marketplace at major trade shows like SIAL.