U.S. SENATE PANEL APPROVES TRADE MISSION BILL

  The U.S. Senate Agriculture
  Committee approved a bill that would establish farm trade and
  aid missions to promote the use of U.S. food aid, donation,
  credit and export subsidy programs by overseas customers.
      The bill, approved by voice vote, would establish trade
  missions made up of representatives of the Departments of
  Agriculture and State, the Agency for International
  Development, the Overseas Private Investment Corp, market
  development cooperatives and private voluntary organizations.
      At least 16 missions would have to be sent within one year
  after enactment of the bill. The missions would promote U.S.
  programs, including PL480, Section 416 donations, Export
  Enhancement Program, the dairy export incentive program, and
  export credit guarantee programs (GSM-102, GSM-103).
      The panel agreed to drop a provision in the original bill,
  offered by Sen. John Melcher (D-Mont.), that would have
  required the U.S. Agriculture Department to donate at least one
  mln tonnes of surplus commodities to developing countries.
      Current law requires USDA to donate at least 750,000 tonnes
  of surplus grains and dairy products under the Section 416 food
  donation program.
      The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the proposed
  increase in the minimum tonnage requirement would have cost up
  to 50 mln dlrs per year, Senate staff said.
      The committee also dropped a provision identifying which
  countries would be the focus of the trade missions' activities.
      Under the bill adopted by the committee, countries "friendly
  to the United States" would be eligible to host the trade
  missions.
      Melcher originally had proposed sending missions to Mexico,
  the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Senegal, Nigeria, Peru,
  Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Venezuela,
  Tunisia and Morocco.
      The bill also would require the Foreign Agricultural
  Service, FAS, to have at least 850 full-time employees during
  fiscal years 1987-89. As of February 28, FAS had 790 full-time
  employees, a FAS spokesman said.
  

