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HR 7670

Specialty CROP Act of 2026

119th Congress Introduced by Suzanne Bonamici and 6 co-sponsors

The act requires an annual unclassified report assessing foreign barriers to U.S. specialty crop exports and actions by the executive branch to address them.

Introduced in House
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HR 7670

Overview

  • Bill: H.R. 7670, “Specialty Crops Reporting on Opportunities and Promotion Act of 2026” (Specialty CROP Act of 2026)
  • Purpose: Require an annual, comprehensive report on the competitiveness of United States exports of specialty crops, identifying foreign barriers, potential impacts, and actions by the executive branch to address those barriers.
  • Introduced: February 25, 2026, by Rep. Bonamici (and original co-sponsors). Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

Main Purpose and Intent

  • Establish a formal mechanism to assess and report on how foreign policies, barriers, and practices affect U.S. exports of specialty crops.
  • Provide Congress with actionable analysis of what foreign regulations or measures hinder U.S. competitiveness and what the United States is doing (or could do) to respond.

Key Provisions

  • Section 203(e)(7) amended: Creates an annual “ANNUAL REPORT” on the competitiveness of U.S. exports of specialty crops.
  • Elements of the report (subparagraph (B)):
    • (i) Identify and analyze foreign acts, policies, or practices that create significant barriers or distort U.S. exports, including:
    • Tariffs (and retaliatory tariffs) and quotas (including tariff-rate quotas)
    • Non-tariff barriers such as technical barriers to trade, sanitary/phytosanitary measures, import licensing, and subsidies
    • (ii) Estimate impacts on U.S. competitiveness from each identified act, policy, or practice; where feasible, estimate the value of additional specialty crops that could have been exported if the act/policy did not exist.
    • (iii) Assess the extent to which each identified act/policy/practice is subject to international agreements to which the U.S. is a party.
    • (iv) Include information on actions taken by the executive branch in the preceding year or planned actions to eliminate the identified barriers, including:
    • Actions under Section 301
    • Negotiations or consultations with foreign governments (including engagement through standing committees on sanitary and phytosanitary matters in trade agreements)
    • Actions at the World Trade Organization (WTO), such as dispute settlement actions, consultations, or negotiations
    • (v) Describe any funds under subsection (f)(3)(A)(iv) that were not obligated in the prior fiscal year, and reasons for not obligating them.
  • (C) Comment Period:
    • Before preparing the report, the Secretary (in coordination with the U.S. Trade Representative) must seek public comment and input from the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables, and incorporate comments.
  • (D) Form and Public Availability:
    • (i) The report, in general, shall be unclassified, but may include a classified annex.
    • (ii) The unclassified portion must be publicly available in machine-readable format.

Who/What Would Be Affected

  • United States exporters of specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, and other targeted crops).
  • Federal agencies involved in trade and agriculture:
    • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    • U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
  • Foreign trading partners and trade policy environment (as analyzed in the report and in potential actions described).
  • Public stakeholders, including growers, industry associations, and other interested parties, via the required comment process.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Annual reporting requirement beginning after enactment (the text specifies an annual report but does not set an explicit start year; standard interpretation is the first report would cover the preceding year).
  • Coordination between USDA and USTR is required for drafting the report.
  • Public comment process required before drafting the report, including input from the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables.
  • Report distribution:
    • Unclassified version publicly available (machine-readable format)
    • Classified annex may be included if necessary

Potential Impact

  • Increased transparency on foreign trade barriers affecting specialty crops.
  • Systematic tracking of policy changes abroad and corresponding U.S. responses, potentially informing future diplomacy and trade actions.
  • May influence legislative and executive decisions by highlighting barriers and potential economic benefits from removing them.
  • Could help farmers, exporters, and industry groups anticipate changes in trade policy and advocate for targeted actions.

If you’d like, I can tailor this into a one-page brief for a specific audience (e.g., policymakers, industry stakeholders, or the general public) or add a quick comparison to existing trade reporting requirements.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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