7 U.S.C. § 5622: Export credit guarantee program

The Commodity Credit Corporation may guarantee the repayment of credit made available to finance commercial export sales of agricultural commodities, including processed agricultural products and high-value agricultural products, from privately owned stocks on credit terms that do not exceed a 24-month period. to increase exports of agricultural commodities; to compete against foreign agricultural exports; developing countries; and countries that are emerging markets that have committed to carry out, or are carrying out, policies that promote economic freedom, private domestic production of food commodities for domestic consumption, and the creation and expansion of efficient domestic markets for the purchase and sale of agricultural commodities; and for such other purposes as the Secretary determines appropriate. Export credit guarantees authorized by this section shall not be used for foreign aid, foreign policy, or debt rescheduling purposes. The provisions of the cargo preference laws shall not apply to export sales with respect to which credit is guaranteed under this section. The Commodity Credit Corporation shall not make credit guarantees available in connection with sales of agricultural commodities to any obligor that the Secretary determines cannot adequately service the debt associated with such sale. Export credit guarantees issued pursuant to this section shall contain such terms and conditions as the Commodity Credit Corporation determines to be necessary. The Commodity Credit Corporation shall finance or guarantee under this section only United States agricultural commodities. is the financial institution issuing the letter of credit or a subsidiary of such institution; or is owned or controlled by an entity that owns or controls that financial institution issuing the letter of credit. The Commodity Credit Corporation may guarantee under subsection (a) the repayment of credit made available to finance an export sale irrespective of whether the obligor is located in the country to which the export sale is destined. In making available any guarantees of credit under this section in connection with sales of fish and processed fish products, the Secretary shall make such guarantees available under terms and conditions that are comparable to the terms and conditions that apply to guarantees provided with respect to sales of other agricultural commodities under this section. The Secretary and the United States Trade Representative shall consult on a regular basis with the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on International Relations, of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on the status of multilateral negotiations regarding agricultural export credit programs. In this subsection, the term “long term” means a period of 10 or more years. develop an approach to risk evaluation that facilitates accurate country risk designations and timely adjustments to the designations (on an ongoing basis) in response to material changes in country risk conditions, with ongoing opportunity for input and evaluation from the private sector; adjust risk-based guarantees as necessary to ensure program effectiveness and United States competitiveness; work with industry to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that risk-based fees associated with the guarantees cover the operating costs and losses over the long term; and notwithstanding any other provision of this section, administer and carry out (only after consulting with the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry of the Senate) the program pursuant to such terms as may be agreed between the parties to address the World Trade Organization dispute WTO/DS267 to the extent not superseded by any applicable international undertakings on officially supported export credits to which the United States is a party. The Commodity Credit Corporation shall make available for fiscal years 1996 through 2023 not less than $1,000,000,000 of direct credits or export credit guarantees for exports to emerging markets under section 201 or 202 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 ( 7 U.S.C. 5621 and 5622), in addition to the amounts acquired or authorized under section 211 of the Act ( 7 U.S.C. 5641 ) for the program. the establishment or improvement of facilities, or the provision of services or United States produced goods, projects that encourage the privatization of the agricultural sector or that benefit private farms or cooperatives in emerging markets; and projects for which nongovernmental persons agree to assume a relatively larger share of the costs. goods from the United States are not available; or the use of goods from the United States is not practicable. the term of the depreciation schedule of the facility assisted; or 20 years. Before the authority under this section is exercised, the Secretary of Agriculture shall consult with exporters of United States agricultural commodities (as defined in section 102(7) of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 [ 7 U.S.C. 5602(7) ]), nongovernmental experts, and other Federal Government agencies in order to ensure that facilities in an emerging market for which financing is guaranteed under paragraph (1)(B) do not primarily benefit countries which are in close geographic proximity to that emerging market. In carrying out the program described in subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that the credits for which repayment is guaranteed under subsection (a) do not negatively affect the political and economic situation in emerging markets by excessively adding to the foreign debt burdens of such countries. is taking steps toward a market-oriented economy through the food, agriculture, or rural business sectors of its economy; and has the potential to provide a viable and significant market for United States agricultural commodities or products of United States agricultural commodities.”