SPECIAL GRANT TO STUDY CONSTRAINTS ON AGRICULTURAL TRADE.

SEC. 1678. SPECIAL GRANT TO STUDY CONSTRAINTS ON AGRICULTURAL TRADE. (a) Grant Required.— The Secretary of Agriculture shall provide at least two special grants to land-grant colleges and universities to conduct a study that will evaluate the trade impacts of technical barriers, quality factors, and end-use characteristics in agricultural trade to determine whether such factors are consistent as between commodities. Such study shall be conducted with the objective— (1) to identify and analyze constraints related to end-use characteristics in trade and competition; (2) to design production and processing techniques to lessen their impacts; and (3) to identify public policy alternatives, nationally and internationally, that may reduce the impacts of such trade restrictions. (b) Joint Development.— The Secretary shall ensure that the grants provided for in this section provide for the joint development of the methodology and techniques between the recipients of such grants to meet the objectives set forth in subsection (a). (c) Report.— Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report the results of the study grants under subsection (a) to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. (d) Land-Grant Colleges and Universities Defined.— For purposes of this section, the term “land-grant colleges and universities” has the meaning given to that term in section 1404(10) of the National Agricultural Research, Teaching, and Extension Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(10)).