Market Development Assistance Produces Exports
The Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) is modeled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) successful market development programs: Foreign Market Development (FMD), Market Access Program (MAP), Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC), and Quality Samples Program (QSP). These USDA programs have helped U.S. producers export agricultural products. For example, MAP, which accounts for 83% of USDA market development funding, has returned, on average, about $100 in exports for every dollar of financial assistance made to exporter organizations.
Might Account for Trade Surplus
In 2009 the United States posted a $23 billion surplus in agricultural products. It is interesting to note that this trade surplus is roughly equivalent to USDA's market development assistance programs, $240 million, multiplied by its historic return of $100 in exports for every one dollar in assistance to U.S. exporters ($240 m * 100 = $24 b).
Unlike agricultural products, the United States runs a trade deficit in merchandise exports. Still, the Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration does its part in minimizing the deficit. U.S. industry groups report that their MDCP projects help U.S. firms to generate on average $211 in exports for every MDCP award dollar.
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