Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73
§4001 Trade suspension reserves
Title 7 › Chapter CHAPTER 71— - AGRICULTURAL TRADE SUSPENSION ADJUSTMENT › § 4001
Summary
When the President or another executive official stops or limits exports of a farm product for national security or foreign policy reasons, and the Agriculture Secretary decides that this will create a surplus that would hurt farmers’ prices, the Secretary can create a gasohol feedstock reserve, a food security reserve, or both, if the commodity can be stored. The Secretary must say within 30 days whether a reserve will be created and how much of the affected exports will be taken out of the market to prevent a damaging surplus. The Secretary can buy the commodity from farmers or the market and use stocks held by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The CCC’s money, facilities, and powers are used, but normal CCC limits on buying, storing, or selling do not apply here. Gasohol reserves can be sold for making motor-fuel alcohol at no less than the fuel conversion price (or, for wheat and feed grains in a special case, no less than the release price). If sales for alcohol are not practical, the Secretary may sell for other uses at no less than 110 percent of the repayment-encouragement level if a producer storage program exists, or at no less than the average market price producers received when the trade was suspended if no program exists. Food security reserves are handled under similar emergency-food rules. The Secretary’s and President’s decisions are final. Stocks must be protected from market manipulation, and once released the reserves may not be refilled. These rules apply to suspensions or restrictions put in place after December 3, 1980.
Full Legal Text
Title 7, §4001
Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Notwithstanding any other provision of law—
(a)Whenever the President or other member of the executive branch of Government causes the export of any agricultural commodity to any country or area of the world to be suspended or restricted for reasons of national security or foreign policy under the Export Administration Act of 1979 or any other provision of law and the Secretary of Agriculture determines that such suspension or restriction will result in a surplus supply of such commodity that will adversely affect prices producers receive for the commodity, the Secretary may establish a gasohol feedstock reserve or a food security reserve, or both, of the commodity, as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, if the commodity is suitable for stockpiling in a reserve.
(b)Within thirty days after the export of any agricultural commodity to a country or area is suspended or restricted as described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall announce whether a gasohol feedstock reserve or a food security reserve of the commodity, or both, will be established under this section and shall include in such announcement the amount of the commodity that will be placed in such reserves, which shall be that portion of the estimated exports of the commodity affected by the suspension or restriction, as determined by the Secretary, that should be removed from the market to prevent the accumulation of a surplus supply of the commodity that will adversely affect prices producers receive for the commodity.
(c)(1)To establish a gasohol feedstock reserve under this section, the Secretary of Agriculture may acquire agricultural commodities (the export of which is suspended or restricted as described in subsection (a) of this section) that are suitable for use in the production of alcohol for motor fuel through purchases from producers or in the market and by designation by the Secretary of stocks of the commodities held by the Commodity Credit Corporation, and to pay such storage, transportation, and related costs as may be necessary to permit maintenance of the commodities in the reserve for the purposes of this section and disposition of the commodities as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2)The Secretary of Agriculture may dispose of stocks of agricultural commodities acquired under paragraph (1) of this subsection only through sale—
(A)for use in the production of alcohol for motor fuel, at not less than the fuel conversion price (as defined in section 4005 of this title) for the commodity involved: Provided, That, for wheat and feed grains, if the fuel conversion price for the commodity involved is less than the then current release price at which producers may repay producer storage loans on the commodity and redeem the commodity prior to the maturity dates of the loans, as determined under clause (5) of the third sentence of section 1445e(b) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title, the Secretary may dispose of stocks of the commodity for such use only through sale at not less than the release price: Provided further, That such sales shall only be made to persons for use in the production of alcohol for motor fuel at facilities that, whenever supplies of the commodity are not readily available, can produce alcohol from other agricultural or forestry biomass feedstocks; or
(B)for any other use, when sales for use under clause (A) of this paragraph are impracticable, (i) if there is a producer storage program in effect for the commodity, at not less than 110 per centum of the then current level at which the Secretary may encourage repayment of producer storage loans on the commodity prior to the maturity dates of the loans, as determined under clause (5) of the third sentence of section 1445e(b) 1 of this title, or, (ii) if there is no producer storage program in effect for the commodity, at not less than the average market price producers received for the commodity at the time the trade suspension was imposed.
(d)(1)To establish a food security reserve under this section, the Secretary of Agriculture may acquire agricultural commodities (the export of which is suspended or restricted as described in subsection (a) of this section) that are suitable for use in providing emergency food assistance and urgent humanitarian relief through purchases from producers or in the market and by designation by the Secretary of stocks of the commodities held by the Commodity Credit Corporation, and to pay such storage, transportation, and related costs as may be necessary to permit maintenance of the commodities in the reserve for the purposes of this section and disposition of the commodities as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2)Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f)(2) of section 1736f–1 of this title shall apply to commodities in any reserve established under paragraph (1), except that the references to “eligible commodities” in the subsections shall be deemed to be references to “agricultural commodities”.
(3)Any determination by the President or the Secretary of Agriculture under this section shall be final.
(e)The funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be used by the Secretary of Agriculture in carrying out this section, except that any restriction applicable to the acquisition, storage, or disposition of Commodity Credit Corporation owned or controlled commodities shall not apply with respect to the acquisition, storage, or disposition of agricultural commodities under this section.
(f)The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish safeguards to ensure that stocks of agricultural commodities held in the reserves established under this section shall not be used in any manner or under any circumstance to unduly depress, manipulate, or curtail the free market.
(g)Whenever stocks of agricultural commodities are disposed of or released from reserves established under this section, as provided in subsections (c)(2) and (d)(2) of this section, the reserves may not be replenished with replacement stocks.
(h)The provisions of this section shall become effective with respect to any suspension of, or restriction on, the export of agricultural commodities, as described in subsection (a) of this section, implemented after December 3, 1980.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Export Administration Act of 1979, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 96–72, Sept. 29, 1979, 93 Stat. 503, which was classified principally to chapter 56 (§ 4601 et seq.) of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title XVII, § 1766(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2232, except for section 11A, 11B, and 11C thereof (50 U.S.C. 4611, 4612, 4613). section 1445e of this title, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), was amended generally by Pub. L. 101–624, title XI, § 1123, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3503, and, as so amended, subsec. (b) of section 1445e does not contain a clause (5).
Amendments
1998—Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 105–385 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 1736f–1 of this title. 1996—Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 104–127 added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: “The provisions of subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g)(2) of section 1736f–1 of this title shall apply to commodities in any reserve established under paragraph (1) of this subsection, and (except for the last sentence of subsection (c) of section 1736f–1 of this title) the references to ‘wheat’ in such subsections of section 1736f–1 of this title shall be deemed to be references to ‘agricultural commodities’.” 1981—Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 97–98, § 1004(1), substituted “third sentence” for “second sentence”. Subsec. (c)(2)(B)(i). Pub. L. 97–98, § 1004(2), substituted “110 per centum” for “105 per centum”, “Secretary may encourage repayment” for “Secretary may call for repayment”, and “clause (5) of the third sentence” for “clause (6) of the second sentence”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1981 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 97–98 effective Dec. 22, 1981, see section 1801 of Pub. L. 97–98, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 4301 of this title.
Effective Date
Pub. L. 96–494, title II, § 213, Dec. 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 2578, provided that: “Except as otherwise provided herein, this title [enacting this chapter and section 1445h of this title, amending section 1444c, 1445b, 1445e, and 1446 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section, section 1445e and 1445h of this title, and section 714c of Title 15, Commerce and Trade] shall become effective October 1, 1980, or the date of enactment [Dec. 3, 1980], whichever is later.”
Short Title
Pub. L. 96–494, § 1, Dec. 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 2570, provided: “That this Act [enacting this chapter and section 1445h and 1736f–1 of this title, amending section 608c, 1444c, 1445b, 1445e, and 1446 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section, section 1445e, 1445h, and 1736f–1 of this title, and section 714c of Title 15, Commerce and Trade] may be cited as the ‘Agricultural Act of 1980’.” Pub. L. 96–494, title II, § 201, Dec. 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 2570, provided that: “This title [enacting this chapter and section 1445h of this title, amending section 1444c, 1445b, 1445e, and 1446 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section, section 1445e and 1445h of this title, and section 714c of Title 15, Commerce and Trade] may be cited as the ‘Agricultural Trade Suspension Adjustment Act of 1980’.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 4001
Title 7 — Agriculture
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73