[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 10]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1485.14]

[Page 753-755]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
  CHAPTER XIV--COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 1485_COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOREIGN MARKETS FOR 
 
                     Subpart B_Market Access Program
 
Sec. 1485.14  Application approval and formation of agreements.

    (a) General. CCC will, consistent with available resources, approve 
those applications which it considers to present the best opportunity 
for developing, maintaining or expanding export markets for U.S. 
agricultural commodities. The selection process, by its nature, involves 
the exercise of judgment. CCC's choice of participants and proposed 
promotion projects requires that it consider and weigh a number of 
factors that cannot be mathematically measured--i.e., market 
opportunity, market strategy and management capability.

[[Page 754]]

    (b) Approval criteria. In assessing the applications it receives and 
determining which it will approve, CCC considers the following criteria:
    (1) The effectiveness of program management;
    (2) Soundness of accounting procedures;
    (3) The nature of the applicant organization, with greater weight 
given to those organizations with the broadest base of producer 
representation;
    (4) Prior export promotion or direct export experience;
    (5) Previous MAP funding;
    (6) Adequacy of the applicant's strategic plan in the following 
categories:
    (i) Description of market conditions;
    (ii) Description of, and plan for addressing, market constraints;
    (iii) Reasonable likelihood of plan success;
    (iv) Export volume and value and market share goals in each country;
    (v) Description of evaluation plan and suitability of the plan for 
performance measurement; and
    (vi) Past program results and evaluations, if applicable.
    (c) Allocation factors. After determining which applications to 
approve, CCC determines how it will allocate resources among 
participants based on the following factors, in addition to those in 
paragraph (b) of this section:
    (1) Size of the budget request in relation to projected value of 
exports;
    (2) Where applicable, size of the budget request in relation to 
actual value of exports in prior years;
    (3) Where applicable, participant's past projections of exports 
compared with actual exports;
    (4) Level of participant's, State's, and industry's contributions;
    (5) Market share goals in target country(ies);
    (6) The degree to which the product to be exported consists of U.S. 
grown agricultural commodities;
    (7) The degree of value-added processing in the U.S.; and
    (8) General administrative and overhead costs compared to direct 
promotional costs.
    (9) In the case of a brand promotion program, the percentage of the 
budget that will be made available to small-sized entities as a means of 
providing priority assistance to such entities.
    (d) Approval decision. (1) CCC will approve those applications which 
it determines best satisfy the criteria and factors specified above. In 
addition, CCC will only approve applications for EIP/MAP when there is 
sufficient U.S. industry need for a brand promotion and there is no 
eligible MAP participant interested in or capable of undertaking the 
brand promotion.
    (2) CCC will not provide assistance to a single company for brand 
promotion in a single country for more than five years. This five year 
period shall not begin prior to the 1994 program or the participant's 
first activity plan year, whichever is later. In limited circumstances, 
the five year limitation may be waived if the Deputy Administrator 
determines that further assistance is necessary in order to meet the 
objectives of the program.
    (e) Formation of agreements. CCC will notify each applicant in 
writing of the final disposition of its application. CCC will send a 
program agreement, allocation approval letter and a signature card to 
each approved applicant. The allocation approval letter will specify any 
special terms and conditions applicable to a participant's program, 
including the required level of participant contribution. An applicant 
that decides to accept the terms and conditions contained in the program 
agreement and allocation approval letter should so indicate by having 
its Chief Executive Officer sign the program agreement and by submitting 
the signed agreement to the Director, Marketing Operations Staff, FAS, 
USDA. Final agreement shall occur when the Administrator signs the 
agreement on behalf of CCC. The application, the program agreement, the 
allocation approval letter and these regulations shall establish the 
terms and conditions of an MAP or EIP/MAP agreement between CCC and the 
approved applicant.
    (f) Signature cards. The participant shall designate at least two 
individuals in its organization to sign program agreements, 
reimbursement claims and advance requests. The participant shall submit 
the signature card signed by those designated individuals and by the

[[Page 755]]

participant's Chief Executive Officer to the Director, Marketing 
Operations Staff, FAS, USDA, and shall immediately notify the Director 
of any changes in signatories and shall submit a revised signature card 
accordingly.

[60 FR 6363, Feb. 1, 1995, as amended at 61 FR 32644, June 25, 1996; 63 
FR 29940, June 2, 1998]