SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announces it is
inviting proposals for the 2013 Quality Samples Program (QSP). The
intended effect of this notice is to solicit applications from eligible
applicants and to set out the criteria for the award of funds under the
program in October 2012. QSP is administered by personnel of the
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

DATES: To be considered for funding, applications must be received by 5
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May 21, 2012. Any applications received
after this time will be considered only if funds are still available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Entities wishing to apply for funding
assistance should contact the Program Operations Division, Office of
Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, Room 6512, 1400
Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20250, or by phone: (202) 720-
4327, or by fax: (202) 720-9361, or by email: podadmin@fas.usda.gov.
Information is also available on the FAS Web site at http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/programs/QSP.asp.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Authority:  QSP is authorized under Section 5(f) of the CCC
Charter Act, 15 U.S.C. 714c(f).

    Purpose: QSP is designed to encourage the development and expansion
of export markets for U.S. agricultural commodities by assisting U.S.
entities in providing commodity samples to potential foreign importers
to promote a better understanding and appreciation for the high quality
of U.S. agricultural commodities.

    QSP participants will be responsible for procuring (or arranging
for the procurement of) commodity samples,

[[Page 24167]]

exporting the samples, and providing the on-site technical assistance
necessary to facilitate successful use of the samples by importers.
Participants that are funded under this announcement may seek
reimbursement from QSP for the sample purchase price, the cost of
transporting the samples domestically to the port of export, and then
to the foreign port or point of entry. Transportation costs from the
foreign port or point of entry to the final destination will not be
eligible for reimbursement. CCC will not reimburse the costs incidental
to purchasing and transporting samples, for example, inspection or
documentation fees. Although providing technical assistance is required
for all projects, QSP will not reimburse the costs of providing
technical assistance. A QSP participant will be reimbursed after CCC
reviews its reimbursement claim and determines that the claim is
complete.

    General Scope of QSP Projects: QSP projects are the activities
undertaken by a QSP participant to provide an appropriate sample of a
U.S. agricultural commodity to a foreign importer, or a group of
foreign importers, in a given market. The purpose of the project is to
provide information to an appropriate target audience regarding the
attributes, characteristics, and proper use of the U.S. commodity. A
QSP project addresses a single market/commodity combination.

    As a general matter, QSP projects should conform to the following
guidelines:
     Projects should benefit the represented U.S. industry and
not a specific company or brand;
     Projects should develop a new market for a U.S. product,
promote a new U.S. product, or promote a new use for a U.S. product,
rather than promote the substitution of one established U.S. product
for another;
     Sample commodities provided under a QSP project must be in
sufficient supply and available on a commercial basis;

     The QSP project must either subject the commodity sample
to further processing or substantial transformation in the importing
country, or the sample must be used in technical seminars in the
importing country designed to demonstrate to an appropriate target
audience the proper preparation or use of the sample in the creation of
an end product;

     Samples provided in a QSP project shall not be directly
used as part of a retail promotion or supplied directly to consumers.
However, the end product, that is, the product resulting from further
processing, substantial transformation, or a technical seminar, may be
provided to end-use consumers to demonstrate to importers consumer
preference for that end product; and

     Samples shall be in quantities less than a typical
commercial sale and limited to the amount sufficient to achieve the
project goal (e.g., not more than a full commercial mill run in the
destination country).

     QSP projects shall target foreign importers and audiences who:
     Have not previously purchased the U.S. commodity that will
be transported under QSP;
     Are unfamiliar with the variety, quality attribute, or
end-use characteristic of the U.S. commodity;
     Have been unsuccessful in previous attempts to import,
process, and market the U.S. commodity (e.g., because of improper
specification, blending, formulation, sanitary, or phytosanitary
issues);
     Are interested in testing or demonstrating the benefits of
the U.S. commodity; or
     Need technical assistance in processing or using the U.S.
commodity.

II. Award Information

    Under this announcement, the number of projects per participant
will not be limited. However, individual projects will be limited to
$75,000 of QSP reimbursement. Projects comprised of technical
preparation seminars, that is, projects that do not include further
processing or substantial transformation, will be limited to $15,000 of
QSP reimbursement as these projects require smaller samples. Financial
assistance will be made available on a reimbursement basis only; cash
advances will not be made available to any QSP participant.

    All proposals will be reviewed against the evaluation criteria
contained herein and funds will be awarded on a competitive basis.
Funding for successful proposals will be provided through specific
agreements between the applicant and CCC. These agreements will
incorporate the proposal as approved by FAS. FAS must approve in
advance any subsequent changes to the project.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Any United States private or government
entity with a demonstrated role or interest in exporting U.S.
agricultural commodities may apply to the program. Government
organizations consist of Federal, State, and local agencies. Private
organizations include non-profit trade associations, universities,
agricultural cooperatives, state regional trade groups, and profit-
making entities.

    2. Cost Sharing: FAS considers the applicant's willingness to
contribute resources, including cash, goods, and services of the U.S.
industry and foreign third parties, when determining which proposals to
approve for funding.

    3. Proposals should include a justification for funding assistance
from the program--an explanation as to what specifically could not be
accomplished without Federal funding assistance and why the
participating organization(s) would be unlikely to carry out the
project without such assistance. Applicants may submit more than one
proposal.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Organizations are
strongly encouraged to submit their QSP applications to FAS through the
Uniform Export Strategy (UES) application Internet Web site. The UES
allows applicants to submit a single consolidated and strategically
coordinated proposal that incorporates requests for funding and
recommendations for virtually all of the FAS marketing programs,
financial assistance programs, and market access programs. The
suggested UES format encourages applicants to examine the constraints
or barriers to trade that they face, identify activities that would
help overcome such impediments, consider the entire pool of
complementary marketing tools and program resources, and establish
realistic export goals.

    Applicants planning to use the Internet-based system must contact
the FAS/Program Operations Division to obtain Web site access
information. The Internet-based application may be found at the
following URL address: https://www.fas.usda.gov/ues/webapp/.

    Although FAS highly recommends applying via the Internet-based
application, as this format virtually eliminates paperwork and
expedites the FAS processing and review cycle, applicants also have the
option of submitting an electronic version of their application to FAS
at podadmin@fas.usda.gov.

    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: To be considered for
QSP, an applicant must submit to FAS information detailed in this
notice. Additionally, in accordance with the Office of Management and
Budget's policy directive (68 FR 38402 (June 27, 2003)) regarding the
need to identify entities that are receiving government awards, all
applicants must submit a

[[Page 24168]]

Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number.
    An applicant may request a DUNS number at no cost by calling the
dedicated toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711.
    In addition, in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25, each entity that
applies to QSP and does not qualify for an exemption under 2 CFR 25.110
must:
    (i) Be registered in the CCR prior to submitting an application or
plan;
    (ii) Maintain an active CCR registration with current information
at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an
application or plan under consideration by CCC; and
    (iii) Provide its DUNS number in each application or plan it
submits to CCC.

    Similarly, in accordance with 2 CFR part 170, each entity that
applies to the QSP and does not qualify for an exception under 2 CFR
170.110(b) must ensure it has the necessary processes and systems in
place to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of 2 CFR
part 170 should it receive QSP funding.

    Incomplete applications and applications that do not otherwise
conform to this announcement will not be accepted for review.

    Proposals should contain, at a minimum, the following:
    (a) Organizational information, including:
     Organization's name, address, Chief Executive Officer (or
designee), Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN), and DUNS number;
     Type of organization;
     Name, telephone number, fax number, and email address of
the primary contact person;
     A description of the organization and its membership;
     A description of the organization's prior export promotion
experience; and
     A description of the organization's experience in
implementing an appropriate trade/technical assistance component;
    (b) Market information, including:
     An assessment of the market;
     A long-term strategy in the market; and
     U.S. export value/volume and market share (historic and
goals) for 2006-2012;
    (c) Project information, including:
     A brief project title;
     Amount of funding requested;
     A brief description of the specific market development
trade constraint or opportunity to be addressed by the project,
performance measures for the years 2013-2015, which will be used to
measure the effectiveness of the project, a benchmark performance
measure for 2011, the viability of long-term sales to this market, the
goals of the project, and the expected benefits to the represented
industry;
     A description of the activities planned to address the
constraint or opportunity, including how the sample will be used in the
end-use performance trial, the attributes of the sample to be
demonstrated and its end-use benefit, and details of the trade/
technical servicing component (including who will provide and who will
fund this component);
     A sample description (i.e., commodity, quantity, quality,
type, and grade), including a justification for selecting a sample with
such characteristics (this justification should explain in detail why
the project could not be effective with a smaller sample);
     An itemized list of all estimated costs associated with
the project for which reimbursement will be sought;
     Beginning and end dates for the proposed project;
     The importer's role in the project regarding handling and
processing the commodity sample; and
     Explanation as to what specifically could not be
accomplished without Federal funding assistance and why the
participating organization(s) would be unlikely to carry out the
project without such assistance;
    (d) Information indicating all funding sources and amounts to be
contributed by each entity that will supplement implementation of the
proposed project. This may include the organization that submitted the
proposal, private industry entities, host governments, foreign third
parties, CCC, FAS, or other Federal agencies. Contributed resources may
include cash, goods or services.

    3. Submission Dates and Times: QSP funding is reviewed on a rolling
basis during the fiscal year as long as remaining QSP funding is
available as set forth below:

     Proposals received by, but not later than 5 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time, May 21, 2012, will be considered for funding with other
proposals received by that date;

     Proposals not approved for funding during this review
period will be reconsidered for funding after the review period only if
the applicant specifically requests such reconsideration in writing,
and only if funding remains available;

     Proposals received after 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May
21, 2012, will be considered in the order received for funding only if
funding remains available.

    4. Other Submission Requirements: All Internet-based applications
must be properly submitted by 5 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, May 21,
2012, in order to be considered for funding; late submissions received
after the deadline will be considered only if funding remains
available. All applications submitted by email must be received by 5
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, May 21, 2012, at podadmin@fas.usda.gov in
order to receive the same consideration.

    5. Funding Restrictions: Proposals that request more than $75,000
of CCC funding for individual projects will not be considered. Projects
comprised of technical preparation seminars will be limited to $15,000
in QSP funding. CCC will not reimburse expenditures made prior to
approval of a proposal or unreasonable expenditures.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Criteria and Review Process: Following is a description of the
FAS process for reviewing applications and the criteria for allocating
available QSP funds.

    FAS will use the following criteria in evaluating proposals:
    The ability of the organization to provide an experienced
staff with the requisite technical and trade experience to execute the
proposal;

     The extent to which the proposal is targeted to a market
in which the United States is generally competitive;

     The potential for expanding commercial sales in the
proposed market;

     The nature of the specific market constraint or
opportunity involved and how well it is addressed by the proposal;

     The extent to which the importer's contribution in terms
of handling and processing enhances the potential outcome of the
project;

     The amount of reimbursement requested and the
organization's willingness to contribute resources, including cash,
goods and services of the U.S. industry, and foreign third parties; and

     How well the proposed technical assistance component
assures that performance trials will effectively demonstrate the
intended end-use benefit.

    Proposals will be evaluated by the Commodity Branch offices in the
FAS' Cooperator Programs Division. The Commodity Branches will review
each proposal against the factors described above. The purpose of this
review is to identify meritorious proposals, recommend an appropriate
funding level for each proposal based upon these factors, and submit
proposals and funding recommendations to the Deputy

[[Page 24169]]

Administrator, Office of Trade Programs.

    2. Anticipated Announcement Date: Announcements of funding
decisions for QSP are anticipated during October 2012.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: FAS will notify each applicant in writing of the
final disposition of the submitted application. FAS will send an
approval letter and agreement to each approved applicant. The approval
letter and agreement will specify the terms and conditions applicable
to the project, including the levels of QSP funding, and any cost-share
contribution requirements.

    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: The agreements
will incorporate the details of each project as approved by FAS. Each
agreement will identify terms and conditions pursuant to which CCC will
reimburse certain costs of each project. Agreements will also outline
the responsibilities of the participant, including, but not limited to,
procurement (or arranging for procurement) of the commodity sample at a
fair market price, arranging for transportation of the commodity sample
within the time limit specified in the agreement (organizations should
endeavor to ship commodities within 6 months of effective date of
agreement), compliance with cargo preference requirements (shipment on
United States flag vessels, as required), compliance with the Fly
America Act requirements (shipment on United States air carriers, as
required), timely and effective implementation of technical assistance,
and submission of a written evaluation report within 90 days of
expiration of the agreement.

    QSP projects are subject to review and verification by FAS'
Compliance, Security and Emergency Planning Division. Upon request, a
QSP participant shall provide to CCC the original documents that
support the participant's reimbursement claims. CCC may deny a claim
for reimbursement if the claim is not supported by adequate
documentation.

    3. Reporting: A written evaluation report must be submitted within
90 days of the expiration of each participant's QSP agreement.
Evaluation reports should address all performance measures that were
presented in the proposal.

VII. Agency Contact(s)

    For additional information and assistance, contact the Program
Operations Division, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 6512, 1400 Independence
Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20250, or by phone: (202) 720-4327, or by fax:
(202) 720-9361, or by email: podadmin@fas.usda.gov.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on the 13th of April 2012.
Bryce Quick,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2012-9635 Filed 4-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P