U.S. Department of Agriculture

Congress authorized more than $1.25 billion for the Market Promotion Program during fiscal years 1986 to 1993, yet GAO found no clear relationship between the amount of money spent on the program and changes in the level of U.S. agricultural exports. The program works with not-for-profit associations that either run market promotion programs themselves or pass the funds along to commercial firms to promote their own brand-name products. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has done few evaluations of efforts funded by the program. USDA cannot be sure that in the absence of the program, participants would not have funded these activities by themselves. USDA has not established criteria for determining when a participant's funding should be reduced or eliminated. The program's stated goals--to encourage the development, maintenance, and expansion of foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products--are so broad that they could provide a rationale for continued support under almost any market situation.