Public Law 480 and Related Programs

Abstract

Surplus agricultural commodities have been moved abroad during the late 1950's under several programs: Public Law 480, The Mutual Security Act, and foreign dollar loans and credits. Shipments under these programs have bulked large in recent years—running close to 40 per cent of total agricultural exports and amounting to about $1.5 billion. The emphasis in these programs has been on surplus disposal, rather than on the development needs of the recipient countries. Hence, it is not surprising that the potential for using the sur plus food and fiber bounty of the United States to support and induce economic development has scarcely been touched. But policy actions are within our grasp for making more effective use of surplus food and fiber products from the United States in the recipient "underdeveloped" countries; food and fiber can be used as capital to finance economic development.