Engagement with Asia and Regional Economic Communities to Promote Alignment of MRL Standard Setting Bodies | USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 22 0023

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 22 0023

The grant opportunity "Engagement with Asia and Regional Economic Communities to Promote Alignment of MRL Standard Setting Bodies" is a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) cooperative agreement focused on reducing pesticide-related trade barriers by helping Asian partners move toward science-based, internationally consistent maximum residue limit (MRL) systems. The underlying problem it targets is that when the European Union reduces or removes MRLs, the impact often extends well beyond Europe. Export-oriented countries may feel pressured to stop using certain pesticides or change how they use them, even if those tools are important for controlling pests and diseases. This creates a ripple effect that can limit farmers access to effective crop protection products and can shrink market options, especially when exporters fear losing access to EU buyers. At the same time, U.S. trade with the Asia-Pacific region is expanding quickly, and fresh fruits and vegetables are especially vulnerable to MRL mismatches because these products frequently face strict residue checks and short marketing windows.

A major theme of the opportunity is regulatory alignment: even when newer, lower-risk pesticides exist, farmers and exporters can still face costly disruptions if residue standards differ from country to country or if an importing market has no established MRL at all. Those kinds of gaps can lead to shipments being delayed, rejected, or subjected to extra scrutiny, which raises costs and uncertainty across supply chains. The opportunity notes that international discussions in venues like the Global Minor Use Summit and the World Trade Organization SPS Committee have repeatedly emphasized that long-term progress depends on strong, coordinated national pesticide registration systems. In other words, aligned MRLs are difficult to achieve without capable regulators, predictable processes, and shared approaches to risk assessment and standard setting.

USDA FAS positions this program as technical assistance aimed at protecting and expanding market access for U.S. agricultural exports by working directly with officials in Asia. The program targets countries participating in key regional economic groupings, especially ASEAN and APEC, and it is designed to help partners understand and adopt regulations that are consistent with U.S. practices and with international standard-setting bodies. A specific point of emphasis is supporting compliance with the APEC MRL Guidelines, which are intended to encourage transparent, risk-based, trade-facilitating approaches to setting and managing pesticide residue limits. The work is meant to be collaborative and practically oriented, organized with support from U.S. universities, USDA and other U.S. government agencies, agribusinesses, and specialized consultants, reflecting the reality that MRL alignment requires legal, scientific, and operational expertise.

The program’s objectives focus on building capacity and improving regulatory systems so that countries can set and implement residue standards in ways that better reflect science and international obligations. First, it seeks to encourage science-based and trade-facilitating policy reforms aligned with international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards and WTO commitments, which is intended to reduce arbitrary or inconsistent requirements that interrupt trade. Second, it aims to improve standard operating procedures at ports of entry for inspection, sampling, and treatments, emphasizing risk principles and international norms so that border controls are more consistent, efficient, and defensible. Third, it seeks to strengthen national and regional frameworks for biopesticide registration, an area often seen as promising for lower-risk pest management but frequently slowed by unclear or underdeveloped regulatory pathways. Fourth, it intends to connect and amplify existing work streams, including MRL registration processes, pesticide risk communication, the use of import MRLs, and broader alignment with international standards, with the goal of creating a larger, well-coordinated MRL capacity-building effort across Asia.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is a discretionary USDA FAS funding action under CFDA 10.960, offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement by the federal agency during project implementation. The funding opportunity number is USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 22 0023. The award ceiling is $250,000, with one expected award. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), with additional eligibility details referenced in the full notice. The opportunity was created on May 24, 2022, and originally closed on June 27, 2022. Overall, the grant is structured as a targeted capacity-building and regulatory cooperation effort meant to lower MRL-related trade friction, support predictable pesticide regulatory systems, and ultimately sustain market access for U.S. exports while helping partner countries improve their own regulatory effectiveness.

• The Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Engagement with Asia and Regional Economic Communities to Promote Alignment of MRL Standard Setting Bodies" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.960.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 24, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 27, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 22 0023

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