American specialty crop farmers — those growing fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and similar products — face a tangle of trade barriers when trying to sell abroad, from retaliatory tariffs to food safety rules that vary by country. This bill would require the USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative to publish an annual report laying out exactly which foreign countries are blocking or distorting U.S. specialty crop exports, estimating the dollar impact, and detailing what the government is doing about it through trade negotiations, WTO actions, or other tools. Before writing the report, they'd have to seek public comment, including from the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Fruits and Vegetables.
Congressional Summary
Specialty Crops Reporting on Opportunities and Promotion Act of 2026 or the Specialty CROP Act of 2026This bill expands the annual reporting requirements for the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide specific information on the competitiveness of U.S. exports of specialty crops.Specifically, the bill modifies the requirements for a congressionally mandated annual report on U.S. specialty crop trade issues to require USDA to report specific information on acts, policies, and practices of foreign countries that constitute significant barriers to, or distortions of, U.S. exports of specialty crops.Further, USDA must consult with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on the report. Before preparing the report, USDA, in coordination with the USTR, must seek comments from the public and the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables.Under the bill, USDA must submit the report to Congress in an unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. The unclassified portion of the report must be publicly available.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2026-02-25
- Date Added
- 2026-04-09