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sector. According to FAS, LATS describes general goals for 

 agricultural trade, the resources USDA can utilize, and the 

 tactics it can employ in facilitating trade. 



LATS was developed largely within FAS, with little input from 

 elsewhere in USDA or from other federal agencies. The document 

 includes narrative on (1) trends in U.S. market share, (2) 

 prospects for sales to developed and developing countries, and 

 (3) USDA strategies for facilitating exports. This narrative 

 discusses areas such as trade policy, domestic programs, and 

 export programs. 



In our opinion, LATS needs additional work to become a useful 

 management tool. Our review indicates that LATS does little to 

 set meaningful priorities for its programs and resources. For 

 example, LATS calls for "the fullest possible use of all export 

 assistance programs" without identifying which programs or 

 activities are critical or most important. 



The compilation of country marketing plans was also completed in 

 January 1993. The compilation listed the top 15 country markets 

 for bulk commodities and the top 15 for consumer-oriented 

 products. Between three and nine priority commodities were 

 listed for each country, with a short discussion of ways of 

 maintaining or increasing U.S. exports of each commodity. The 

 document did not prioritize the country markets nor did it 

 prioritize commodities within each of these countries. In our 

 view, more specifics are needed on priorities and plans in order 

 to enhance the effective use of the U.S. export promotion dollar. 



Governmentwlde Strategic Planning 

 for Export Promotion 



In September 1993, the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee 

 released a report, "Toward a National Export Strategy," on its 



