For purposes of this subpart the following definitions apply:
Activity means a specific foreign market development effort undertaken by an ATP Participant.
Administrative expenses or costs means expenses or costs of administering, directing, and controlling an organization that is an ATP Participant. Generally, this would include expenses or costs such as those related to:
(1) Maintaining a physical office (including, but not limited to, rent, office equipment, office supplies, office décor, office furniture, computer hardware and software, maintenance, extermination, parking, business cards);
(2) Personnel (including, but not limited to, salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, individual insurance, training);
(3) Communications (including, but not limited to, phone expenses, internet, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, email, mobile email devices, postage, courier services, television, radio, walkie talkies);
(4) Management of an organization or unit of an organization (including, but not limited to, planning, supervision, supervisory travel, teambuilding, recruiting, hiring);
(5) Utilities (including, but not limited to, sewer, water, energy);
(6) Professional services (including, but not limited to, accounting expenses, financial services, investigatory services).
Approval letter means a document by which the CCC informs an applicant that its ATP application has been approved for funding. This letter may also approve specific activities and contain terms and conditions in addition to the program agreement. This letter requires a countersignature by the ATP Participant before it becomes effective.
ATP means the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program.
ATP Notice means Agricultural Trade Promotion Program notices are documents that CCC issues for informational purposes. These ATP notices are made available electronically at www.fas.usda.gov/programs/agricultural-trade-promotion-program-atp. These notices have no legal effect. They are intended to alert ATP Participants of various aspects of CCC's current administration of the ATP program. For example, CCC issues ATP notices to alert ATP Participants of procedures for requesting advances, applicable Federal pay scale rates, lists of economic and trade sanctions against certain foreign countries, reporting formats and computer codes to use with the UES.
ATP Participant or Participant means an entity that has entered into an ATP program agreement with the CCC.
Attaché/Counselor means the FAS employee representing USDA interests in the foreign country in which promotional activities are conducted.
Brand participant means a U.S. for-profit entity or a U.S. agricultural cooperative that owns the brand(s) of the U.S. agricultural commodity to be promoted or has the exclusive rights to use such brand(s) and that is participating in the ATP brand promotion program of an ATP Participant. This definition does not include any U.S. agricultural cooperatives that are ATP Participants that apply for ATP funds to implement their own brand programs.
Brand promotion means an activity that involves the exclusive or predominant use of a single U.S. company name, or the logo or brand name of a single U.S. company, or the brand of a U.S. agricultural cooperative, or any activity undertaken by a brand participant in the brand program.
CCC means the Commodity Credit Corporation, including any agency or official of the United States delegated the responsibility to act on behalf of the CCC.
Contribution means an expenditure made by an ATP Participant, the U.S. industry, or State agency in support of an approved activity. This includes expenditures to be made by entities in the ATP Participant's industry in support of the entities' related promotion activities in the markets covered by the ATP Participant's agreement.
Credit memo means a commercial document, also known as a credit memorandum, issued by the ATP Participant to a commercial entity that owes the ATP Participant a certain sum. A credit memo is used when the ATP Participant owes the commercial entity a sum less than the amount the entity owes the Participant. The credit memo reflects an offset of the amount the ATP Participant owes the entity against the amount the entity owes to the ATP Participant.
Demonstration projects means activities involving the erection or construction of a structure or facility or the installation of equipment.
Expenditure means either payment via the transfer of funds or offset reflected in a credit memo in lieu of a transfer of funds.
FAS means Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.
FAS website means a website maintained by FAS providing information on ATP. It is currently accessible at www.fas.usda.gov/programs/agricultural-trade-promotion-program-atp.
Foreign third party means a foreign entity that an ATP Participant works with to promote the export of a U.S. agricultural commodity under the ATP program.
Generic promotion means an activity that is not a brand promotion but, rather, promotes a U.S. agricultural commodity generally. A generic promotion activity may include the promotion of a foreign brand (i.e., a brand owned primarily by foreign interests and being used to market a commodity or product in a foreign market), if the foreign brand uses the promoted U.S. agricultural commodity from multiple U.S. suppliers. A generic promotion activity may also involve the use of specific U.S. company names, logos or brand names. However, in that case, the ATP Participant must ensure that all U.S. companies seeking to promote such U.S. agricultural commodity in the market have an equal opportunity to participate in the activity and that at least two U.S. companies participate. In addition, an activity that promotes separate items from multiple U.S. companies will be considered a generic promotion only if the promotion of the separate items maintains a unified theme (i.e., a dominant idea or motif) and style and is subordinate to the promotion of the generic theme.
Market means the country or countries targeted by an activity.
Notification means a document from the ATP Participant by which the ATP Participant proposes to CCC changes to the activities and/or funding levels in an approved ATP program agreement and/or approval letter.
Product samples means a representative part of a larger whole promoted commodity or group of promoted commodities. Product samples include all forms of a promoted commodity (e.g., fresh or processed), independent of the ultimate utilization of the sample. Product samples must be used in support of international marketing activities including, but not limited to, displays, food process testing, cooking demonstrations, or trade and consumer tastings.
Program agreement means a document entered into between CCC and an ATP Participant setting forth the terms and conditions of approved activities under ATP, including any subsequent amendments to such agreement.
Program period means a 12-month period during which an ATP Participant can undertake activities consistent with this subpart and its program agreement and approval letter with CCC. Program periods will begin on January 1 and end on December 31 of the same year, or begin on July 1 and end on June 30 of the subsequent year.
Promoted commodity means a U.S. agricultural commodity the sale of which is the intended result of a promotional activity.
Sales and trade relations expenditures (STRE) means expenditures made on breakfast, lunch, dinner, receptions, and refreshments at approved activities; miscellaneous courtesies such as checkroom fees, taxi fares and tips for approved activities; and decorations for a special promotional occasion that is part of an approved activity.
Sales team means a group of individuals engaged in an approved activity intended to result in specific sales.
Small-sized entity means a U.S. for-profit entity that meets the small business size standards published at 13 CFR part 121, Small Business Size Regulations.
SRTG means State Regional Trade Group. An SRTG is a nonprofit association of state-funded agricultural promotion agencies.
Temporary contractor means a contractor, typically a consultant or other highly paid professional that is hired on a short term basis to assist in the performance of an activity.
Trade team means a group of individuals engaged in an approved activity intended to promote the interests of an entire agricultural sector rather than to result in specific sales by any of its members.
UES website means a website maintained by FAS through which applicants may apply online to ATP and any other USDA market development program. The website is currently accessible to persons with e-authentication certification at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/ues/webapp/.
Unified Export Strategy (UES) means a standardized online internet application developed by USDA and available for use by entities to apply to any USDA market development program, including the ATP.
U.S. agricultural commodity means any agricultural commodity, including any food, feed, fiber, forestry product, livestock, or insect of U.S. origin or fish harvested from a U.S. aquaculture farm or harvested by a vessel as defined in Title 46 of the United States Code, in waters that are not waters (including the territorial sea) of a foreign country, and any product thereof, excluding tobacco. An agricultural commodity shall be considered to be U.S. origin if it is comprised of at least 50 percent by weight, exclusive of added water, of agricultural commodities grown or raised in the United States.
USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture.
U.S. for-profit entity means a firm, association, or other entity organized or incorporated, located and doing business for profit in the United States, and engaged in the export or sale of a U.S. agricultural commodity.