Specialty CROP Act of 2023

Specialty Crops Reporting on Opportunities and Promotion Act of 2023 or the Specialty CROP Act of 2023

This 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.