For purposes of this part the following definitions apply:
Activity means a specific foreign market development effort undertaken by a RAPP Participant.
Administrative expenses or costs means expenses or costs of administering, directing, and controlling an organization that is a RAPP Participant. Generally, this would include expenses or costs such as those related to:
(1) Maintaining a physical office (including, but not limited to: rent, office equipment, office supplies, computer hardware and software, office maintenance);
(2) Personnel (including, but not limited to, salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, individual insurance, training);
(3) Communications (including, but not limited to, phone expenses, internet, mobile phones, mobile phone service postage, courier services, television, radio, walkie talkies);
(4) Management of an organization or unit of an organization (including, but not limited to, planning, supervision, supervisory travel, recruiting, hiring);
(5) Utilities (including, but not limited to, sewer, water, energy, Wi-Fi); and
(6) Professional services (including, but not limited to, accounting expenses, financial services, investigatory services).
Approval letter means a document by which the CCC informs an applicant that its RAPP application has been approved for funding. This letter may also approve specific activities and contain terms and conditions in addition to the program agreement. This letter requires a countersignature by the RAPP Participant before it becomes effective.
Attaché/Counselor means the FAS employee representing USDA interests in the foreign country in which promotional activities are conducted.
Brand participant means a U.S. for-profit entity that owns the brand(s) of the eligible commodity to be promoted (or has the exclusive rights to use such brand(s)) and that is participating in the RAPP brand promotion program of another RAPP Participant. This definition does not include any U.S. agricultural cooperatives.
Brand promotion means an activity that involves the exclusive or predominant use of a single U.S. company name, or the logo or brand name of a single U.S. company, or the brand of a U.S. agricultural cooperative, or any activity undertaken by a brand participant in a brand program.
Budget period means the period during which a RAPP Participant can undertake activities consistent with this part and its program agreement and approval letter with CCC. Budget periods will be specified in a RAPP Participant's approval letter.
CCC means the Commodity Credit Corporation, including any agency or official of the United States delegated the responsibility to act on behalf of the CCC.
Constraint means a condition in a particular country or region that needs to be addressed in order to develop, expand, or maintain exports of a specific eligible commodity.
Contribution means an expenditure made by a RAPP Participant, the U.S. industry, or a State agency in support of an approved activity. This includes expenditures to be made by entities in the RAPP Participant's industry in support of the entities' related promotion activities in the markets covered by the RAPP Participant's agreement.
Credit memo means a commercial document, also known as a credit memorandum, issued by the RAPP Participant to a commercial entity that owes the RAPP Participant a certain sum. A credit memo is used when the RAPP Participant owes the commercial entity a sum less than the amount the entity owes the Participant. The credit memo reflects an offset of the amount the RAPP Participant owes the entity against the amount the entity owes to the RAPP Participant.
Demonstration projects means activities involving the erection or construction of a structure or facility or the installation of equipment.
Eligible commodity means any U.S. agricultural commodity or product thereof, excluding tobacco, that is comprised of at least 50 percent by weight, exclusive of added water, of agricultural commodities grown or raised in the United States.
Expenditure means either payment made by a RAPP participant via the transfer of funds or an offset reflected in a credit memo in lieu of a transfer of funds.
FAS means Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.
FAS website means a website maintained by FAS providing information on RAPP. It is currently accessible at https://fas.usda.gov/programs/regional-agricultural-promotion-program.
Foreign third party means a foreign entity that a RAPP Participant works with to promote the export of an eligible commodity under the RAPP program.
Generic promotion means an activity that is not a brand promotion but, rather, promotes an eligible commodity generally. A generic promotion activity may include the promotion of a foreign brand (i.e., a brand owned primarily by foreign interests and being used to market a commodity or product in a foreign market), if the foreign brand uses the promoted eligible commodity from multiple U.S. suppliers. A generic promotion activity may also involve the use of specific U.S. company names, logos, or brand names. However, in that case, the RAPP Participant must ensure that all U.S. companies seeking to promote such eligible commodity in the market have an equal opportunity to participate in the activity and that at least two U.S. companies participate. In addition, an activity that promotes separate items from multiple U.S. companies will be considered a generic promotion only if the promotion of the separate items maintains a unified theme (i.e., a dominant idea or motif) and style and is subordinate to the promotion of the generic theme.
Market means the country or countries targeted by an activity.
Notification means a document from the RAPP Participant by which the RAPP Participant proposes to CCC changes to the activities and/or funding levels in an approved RAPP program agreement and/or approval letter.
Period of performance means the total time interval between the start of a RAPP award and the planned end date, which may include one or more funded portions, or budget periods. A RAPP award's period of performance will be defined by the dates contained in the program agreement.
Product samples means a representative part of a larger whole promoted commodity or group of promoted commodities. Product samples include all forms of a promoted commodity (e.g., fresh or processed), independent of the ultimate utilization of the sample. Product samples must be used in support of international marketing activities including, but not limited to, displays, food process testing, cooking demonstrations, or trade and consumer tastings.
Program agreement means a document entered into between CCC and a RAPP Participant setting forth the terms and conditions of approved activities under RAPP, including any subsequent amendments to such agreement.
Promoted commodity means an eligible commodity the sale of which is the intended result of a promotional activity.
RAPP means the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.
RAPP notice means Regional Agricultural Promotion Program notices, which are documents that CCC issues for informational purposes. These RAPP notices are made available electronically on the FAS website. These notices have no legal effect. They are intended to alert RAPP Participants to various aspects of CCC's current administration of the RAPP program.
RAPP Participant or Participant means an entity that has entered into a RAPP program agreement with the CCC.
Sales and trade relations expenditures (STRE) means expenditures made on breakfast, lunch, dinner, receptions, and refreshments at approved activities; miscellaneous courtesies such as checkroom fees, taxi fares and tips for approved activities; and decorations for a special promotional occasion that is part of an approved activity.
Sales team means a group of individuals engaged in an approved activity intended to result in specific sales.
SRTG means State Regional Trade Group. An SRTG is a nonprofit association of State-funded agricultural promotion agencies.
Temporary contractor means a contractor, typically a consultant or other highly paid professional, that is hired on a short-term basis to assist in the performance of an activity.
Trade team means a group of individuals engaged in an approved activity intended to promote the interests of an entire agricultural sector rather than to result in specific sales by any of its members.
UES website means a website maintained by FAS through which applicants may apply and are reimbursed for RAPP and other USDA market development programs. The website is currently accessible to persons with e-authentication certification at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/ues/webapp/. FAS may prescribe a different system through which applicants may apply to the RAPP and will announce such system in the applicable NOFO.
Unified Export Strategy (UES) means a standardized online internet application developed by USDA and available for use by entities to apply to USDA market development programs, including the RAPP.
U.S. agricultural commodity means any agricultural commodity of U.S. origin, including food, feed, fiber, forestry product, livestock, insects, and fish harvested from a U.S. aquaculture farm or harvested by a vessel (as defined in title 46 of the United States Code) in waters that are not waters (including the territorial sea) of a foreign country, and any product thereof.
USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture.
U.S. for-profit entity means a firm, association, or other entity organized or incorporated, located, and doing business for profit in the United States, and engaged in the export or sale of an eligible commodity.