The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service has certified three petitions for shrimp producers in South Carolina, Texas and Georgia under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers program. They are now eligible to apply for TAA benefits.

Under the TAA program, USDA provides technical assistance and cash benefits to producers if an increase in imports of a like commodity has contributed importantly to a decline in price and a loss of income.

After an investigation of the producers’ petitions, FAS determined that during January-December 2002, increased imports of farmed shrimp contributed importantly to declines in domestic prices for producers in South Carolina, Texas and Georgia, when compared with previous 5-year averages.

Producers may obtain a TAA application (FSA-229) from http://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eforms/mainservlet or from their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) service center. Producers have until Feb. 9, 2004, to submit their application to FSA. After they submit completed applications, technical assistance and training will begin as soon as possible. Financial payments will not be made until after applications are certified.

For further information about the TAA program, contact Jean-Louis Pajot, Coordinator, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers, FAS, USDA, (202) 720-2916, e-mail: trade.assistance@fas.usda.gov.