Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954

The Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (Pub. L. 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.^[1] The Act was signed into law on July 10, 1954, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.^[2][3]

Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954

Long title	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.
Nicknames	Food for Peace Act of 1954
Enacted by	the 83rd United States Congress
Effective	July 10, 1954
Citations
Public law	83-480
Statutes at Large	68 Stat. 454
Codification
Titles amended	7 U.S.C.: Agriculture
U.S.C. sections created	7 U.S.C. ch. 41 § 1691 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 2475 on July 24, 1953 Committee consideration by Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Passed the Senate on July 28, 1953 (Passed) Passed the House on June 16, 1954 (Passed) Signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 10, 1954

The act was popular in Congress because it allowed American farmers to sell their surplus commodities, fed hungry people, and developed future markets.^[4]

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.^[5]