USDA Announces Direct Payments to Cranberry Growers!

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced USDA will take action to assist farmers who have been negatively impacted by unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and other trade disruptions. Specifically, the USDA is authorized to provide up to $16 billion in relief programs including the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), Food Purchase and Distribution Program (FPDP) and the Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) Program.

Cranberry producers are now eligible for direct payments through MFP which is authorized under the Credit Corporation Charter Act and administered by the Farm Service Agency. Since April 2018 when the initial retaliatory tariffs were invoked against the U.S., the cranberry industry has incurred a loss of over $32,000,000 in exports, in comparison with past years figures. Direct payments to growers through MFP will help the industry stay afloat and compensate them for unjustified losses.

In response to the U.S. imposed steel and aluminum tariffs against Canada, China, Mexico, EU and China nearly one year ago, the following tariffs have been imposed against U.S. Cranberry exports:

• Canada imposed a 10% retaliatory tariff on U.S. juice cocktails (includes cranberry juice),
• Mexico imposed a 20% retaliatory tariff on U.S. dried cranberries,
• China imposed a
  • 10% retaliatory tariff on U.S. cranberry concentrate
  • 55% retaliatory tariff on U.S. frozen cranberries
  • 15% retaliatory tariff on U.S. cranberry cocktail; and
• European Union imposed a 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S. cranberry concentrate.

USDA announcement can be found here.