If you checked "Moderately dissatisfied" or "Strongly dissatisfied", please attempt to identify your reason (s) by checking one or more of the following: U.S. Government controls were not necessary Wrong type of controls were applied Controls were implemented at the wrong time Controls were not strong enough IV. The 1974 Soviet Union Wheat and Corn Sales In mid-September 1974, the Soviet Union entered the U.S. market to purchase wheat and corn. Because of a tight supply situation in this country, in October 1974, the U.S. Government intervened, causing the original sales to be renegotiated for smaller quantities. 43. Did your firm cancel contracts or defer delivery under any contracts as a result of the U.S. Government control applied to the October 1974 purchase of corn and wheat by the Soviet Union? (Check one.) Neither cancelled contracts nor deferred delivery under any contracts Cancelled some contracts but did not defer delivery under any contracts Deferred delivery under some contracts but did not cancel any contracts Cancelled some contracts and deferred delivery under other contracts 44. From your understanding of the October 1974 control applied to the sales of corn and wheat to the Soviet Union, were you satisfied or not with the Government's action? (Check one.) Strongly satisfied Moderately satisfied Moderately dissatisfied Strongly dissatisfied If you checked "Moderately dissatisfied" or "Strongly dissatisfied", please a tempt to identify your reason (s) by checking one or more of the following: U.S. Government controls were not necessary Wrong type of controls were applied Controls were implemented at the wrong time Controls were not strong enough Other (please specify). 45. In the event of a short supply export control situation materializing, similar to the soybean shortage of 1973, which of the following Government export allocation programs would you prefer? (Check one.) Allocating export quotas by country or region Selling export permits at fixed fees with no quota on the number of permits to be sold Selling export quota licenses to exporters at auction Distributing export licenses to domestic producers on the basis of production histories Distributing export licenses to exporters on the basis of their historical Distributing export licenses to exporters on a first-come, first-served basis V. Reserves In anticipation of future short-supply situations the U.S. Government could establish reserves in which a specified quantity of specific commodities would be set aside for future national needs. 46. In the event the U.S. adopts a national grain reserve policy, please indicate which of the following types of management control systems you would prefer. (Check one.) Voluntary private reserve Mandatory Government financed reserve stored by the private sector Joint venture reserve-mutually financed and mutually stored by the Gov- Other (please specify) – EXPORTER ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS 47. What effect do you believe the Export Sales Reporting System has had on your firm's export sales of agricultural commodities during the past year? (Check one.) Moderate increase in sales volume Slight increase in sales volume No effect Slight decrease in sales volume Moderate decrease in sales volume No basis to judge 48. The major determinants of commodity prices are worldwide and domestic supply and demand factors. Recognizing this, do you believe that the weekly publication of export data in the U.S. Export Sales report has any additional influence on commodity prices? (Check one.) Little or no influence Small influence Very great influence 49. What is your firm's primary perception of the Export Sales Reporting System as it is presently employed? (Check one.) A means to provide more information on foreign demand and export commitments Improvement of the Government's system for forecasting exports The first step toward a comprehensive Government short supply management system A Government activity of marginal utility Other (please specify) 50. To what degree do you believe the Export Sales Reporting System has achieved its stated objective of providing accurate, timely, and reliable export statistics? (Check one.) Little or no achievement □ Minimally achieved Moderately achieved Major achievement Almost completely achieved 51. Do you believe that there is a need for the U.S. Government to routinely monitor U.S. agricultural exports so as to permit intervention when it perceives such action to be in the national interest? (Check one.) Definitely yes Probably yes As much yes as no Probably no Definitely no No basis to judge 52. Regardless of whether or not you believe that there is a need for Government involvement in the activities of agricultural commodity exporters, in the event that Government involvement is to continue, we would like your views as to what form this involvement should take. Below are listed ten different types of control for the export of agricultural commodities. Please rank order the alternatives presented from the most to the least preferred by your firm. Select the alternative most preferred and indicate it by circling 1st to the right of it. Do the same for all remaining alternatives, ranking them 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th. Note: Each rank, 1 through 10 should be circled only Please use this space for making any comments you may have on the Export Sales Reporting System or any of the other items mentioned in the questionnaire. Your views are greatly appreciated. Thank you. 53. Please provide the following information on the quantities (in metric tons) of agricultural commodities contracted for-fixed and basis type contracts— during the 1973-74 marketing year. If historical records are not readily available, please obtain estimates from knowledgeable individuals (e.g., specific commodity traders) at your firm. Also, please remember to indicate for each commodity whether historical records were used or whether estimates were made. If you did not export any given commodity listed, during the specified period, please cross it out and go on to the next commodity. [The following material was referred to on p. 17.] GAO PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SECTION 812 OF THE AGRICULTURAL ACT OF 1970, AS ADDED BY THE AGRICULTURAL ACT OF 1973 (PUBLIC LAW 93-86) The Congress hereby finds that accurate, reliable, complete, and timely information on exports of agricultural commodities and control of such exports in situations of potential or actual short-supply are necessary to protect the domestic economy from: (1) excessive drain of certain commodities; (2) the disruptive effect of major price fluctuations; and (3) the serious inflationary impact of excessive foreign demand. Section 812 of the Agriculture Act of 1970, as added by Pub. L. No. 93-86, is amended to read as follows: "EXPORT SALES REPORTING "Sec. 812. (a) All exporters of agricultural commodities produced in the United States shall, pursuant to regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary, report to the Secretary on a weekly basis the following information, including any changes in information previously reported, regarding any commitment. contract, or other agreement for export sales entered into, modified in any manner, or terminated during the reporting period: (1) type, class, quantity, and price of the commodity sought to be exported; (2) the marketing year of shipment; (3) ultimate destination and any intermediate destinations; and (4) identity of the buyer and the relationship, if any, of the buyer to the seller. The Secretary may, upon request by one or more exporters of a particular commodity, waive the reporting requirements of this section with respect to such commodity for good cause shown: Provided, however, That such waivers may not be granted for exports of wheat and wheat flour, feed grains, oilseeds, and cotton and products thereof, and that waivers may be withdrawn by the Secretary if in his opinion it becomes necessary to begin or resume reporting on a particular commodity. “(b) In addition to the other reporting requirements established herein, and subject to the penalties set forth in subsection (f) for knowing failure to report, exporters of agricultural commodities shall notify the Secretary, within 15 days of their commencement, of any contacts with foreign commercial or governmental importers which may result in export sales of wheat and wheat flour, feed grains, oilseeds, soybeans, cotton, and products thereof, or of other agricultural commodities as may be designated by the Secretary. For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary may establish threshold notification quantities by regulations. For each commodity for which the Secretary establishes a threshold notification quantity, notification is only required when a contract with a foreign importer may result in an export of at least that quantity. Notification shall consist only of identification of the commodity, the quantity expected to be exported, and the expected marketing year of shipment. "(c) The Secretary shall, with respect to each commodity concerning which reports are required to be filed hereunder, determine at the start of each marketing year whether a short-supply situation exists or will exist. A commodity shall be determined to be in a short-supply situation when the total of reserves on hand, estimated total domestic production, and an amount determined by the Secretary to be an adequate reserve is exceeded by the total of estimated exports (both commercial and under Government programs) and estimated domestic consumption. The Secretary shall, as additional information becomes available to him during the marketing year by means of the required reports, consultation with other agencies, and otherwise, review his determinations whether or not agricultural commodities are in a short-supply situation, and, as appropriate, modify those determinations. In developing the necessary information and in making determinations hereunder, the Secertary shall seek information and advice from the Department of State, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Council on Wage and Price Stability, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; from the several departments and agencies concerned with aspects of our domestic and foreign policies and operations having an important bearing on exports of agricultural commodities; and, with respect to foreign demand, from foreign sources |