View source for Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle        = Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954
| othershorttitles  =
| longtitle         = An Act to increase the consumption of United States agricultural commodities in foreign countries, to improve the foreign relations of the United States, and for other purposes.
| colloquialacronym = 
| nickname          = Food for Peace Act of 1954
| enacted by        = 83rd
| effective date    = July 10, 1954
| public law url    = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-68/pdf/STATUTE-68-Pg454-2.pdf
| cite public law   = 83-480
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|68|454}}
| acts amended    = 
| acts repealed   = 
| title amended   = [[Title 7 of the United States Code|7 U.S.C.: Agriculture]]
| sections created = {{Usc-title-chap|7|41}} § 1691 et seq.
| sections amended = 
| leghisturl      = 
| introducedin    = Senate
| introducedbill  = {{USBill|83|S|2475}}
| introducedby    = <!--sponsor(s); use {{uspolabbr}} for party/district-->
| introduceddate  = July 24, 1953
| committees      = [[United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry|Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry]]
| passedbody1     = Senate
| passeddate1     = July 28, 1953
| passedvote1     = Passed
| passedbody2     = House
| passedas2       = <!-- used if the second body changes the name of the legislation -->
| passeddate2     = June 16, 1954
| passedvote2     = Passed
| conferencedate  = 
| passedbody3     = 
| passeddate3     = 
| passedvote3     = 
| agreedbody3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreeddate3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedvote3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedbody4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreeddate4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreedvote4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| passedbody4     = 
| passeddate4     = 
| passedvote4     = 
| signedpresident = [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
| signeddate      = July 10, 1954
| unsignedpresident = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| unsigneddate    = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| vetoedpresident = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| vetoeddate      = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| amendments      = 
| SCOTUS cases    = 
}}
The '''Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954''' ({{USPL|83|480}}, enacted July 10, 1954) is a [[United States federal law]] that established [[Food for Peace]], the primary and first permanent US organization for food assistance to foreign nations.<ref>{{cite book |last=McDonald |first=Bryan L |title=Food Powr: The Rise and Fall of the Postwar American Food System |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2018 |page=13}}</ref> The Act was signed into law on July 10, 1954, by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/4728402.1954.001.umich.edu/page/626/ |title=Dwight D. Eisenhower: "Statement by the President Upon Signing the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954" July 10, 1954 |date=July 10, 1954 |website=Internet Archive |publisher=U.S. National Archives and Records |page=626}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/83rd-congress/senate-bill/2475 |title=S. 2475 - Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 |trans-title=Food for Peace Act of 1954 |series=P.L. 83-480 ~ 68 Stat. 454 |publisher=Congress.gov}}</ref>

The act was popular in [[United States Congress|Congress]] because it allowed American farmers to sell their surplus commodities, fed hungry people, and developed future markets.<ref>{{cite web|last=Swanson|first=Ryan|date=March 2003|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/FAS_03-2003.pdf|title= The History of the Foreign Agricultural Service:  Helping U.S. Producers Feed, Clothe and House the World |page=5 |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>

According to Eisenhower, the purpose of the legislation was to "lay the basis for a permanent expansion of our exports of agricultural products with lasting benefits to ourselves and peoples and peoples of other lands."

The act was first drafted by future [[Foreign Agricultural Service]] (FAS) Administrator [[Gwynn Garnett]] in 1950.  It is unusual in that it allows the FAS to conclude agreements with foreign governments without the advice or consent of the [[United States Senate]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mustard|first=Allen|date=May 2003|volume=80|number=5|magazine=The Foreign Service Journal|title=An Unauthorized History of the FAS|pages=38–39|url=http://www.afsa.org/sites/default/files/flipping_book/0503/38/}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060414040655/http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/ffp/50th/history.html Information about Food for Peace, from usaid.gov]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070316101654/http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/general/aib/aib729/aib729a3.pdf#search='agricultural%20act%201954' Information about U.S. agricultural legislation, from cornell.edu]

{{US farm acts}}
{{Dwight D. Eisenhower}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1954 in American law]]
[[Category:United States federal agriculture legislation]]
[[Category:83rd United States Congress]]
[[Category:United States federal legislation articles needing infoboxes]]


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