The implications of recent amendments to the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954

Published in 1970

The Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance : Act of 1954 (Public Law 480) has undergone many changes since its passage. Most of the revisions have come during the past three years as the majority of congressmen began to realize that the program was not temporary in nature. Through these basic changes the Senators and Representatives have attempted to alter the philosophy of sales and donations under Public Law 480. Gone is the requirement that goods be labeled 'surplus' before being made available for shipment overseas- In its place Congress has included stipulations which recipient nations must adhere to before signing an agreement for U.S. agricultural commodities. A second major revision is the gradual phasing out of local currency sales. It will be some time before the results of this action can be analyzed properly, but the administrators of our foreign aid program feel that this regulation will aid the less developed countries in planning their; economic development program as well as easing the U.S. balance of payments problem. It is difficult to foresee what will happen to P.L. 480 shipments in the future. It is possible that the added concern for the welfare of the participating countries expressed by the congressmen will diminish if these countries continue to increase their own production at the expense of our concessional sales. If this is the case, the P.L. 480 program or similar policy instruments will again be principally concerned with alleviation of the U.S. surpluses of the agricultural commodities.

AZU_TD_BOX56_E9791_1970_146.pdf (3.83 MB)

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