The Farm Security and Rural Investment
Act of 2002 mandates that the Secretary make available annually $2
million of commodity Credit Corporation funds to establish and
carry out an export assistance program to address sanitary,
phytosanitary and technical barriers that prohibit or threaten the
export of U.S. specialty crops. This interim rule would establish
the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program, providing a
new tool to enable USDA to make available the needed resources to
the specialty crop industry to remove, resolve or mitigate the
barriers to increased exports.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.