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3.236. (...) Federal agencies are also required, when developing technical regulations, to take into account international standards and, if appropriate, base their regulations on those international standards. Title IV of the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) of 1979 as amended (19 U.S.C. 2531) provides that the reasons for which it may not be appropriate to base a U.S. technical regulation on an international standard include, but are not limited to, the protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the environment.

3.241. (...) Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), is responsible for enforcing technical regulations at the border, and taking enforcement actions when such regulations are violated, including refusing admission. The CPSC has jurisdiction over many types of consumer products. However, some types of consumer products are covered by other federal agencies. (...) pesticides and fungicides are monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (...). The CPSC also controls labelling requirements, such as those of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), which requires precautionary labelling on the immediate container of hazardous household products.

3.244. Overall, 980 notifications (76.0%) relate to technical regulations (out of which 110 at the state level) and 255 notifications (19.8%) relate to conformity assessment procedures (out of which 28 at the state level). (...) The most frequent objectives are the protection of the environment (49.3%), (...)

3.249. (...) The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) at USDA protects the health of U.S. agriculture and natural resources against invasive pests and diseases, and regulates genetically engineered crops while promoting exports of U.S. plant and animal products. (...).

3.256. On 1 August 2018, new U.S. standards for barley under the U.S. Grain Standards Act entered into force. In June 2019, APHIS issued a final rule clarifying and further detailing the criteria to be used when assessing risks related to plant pests for the importation, interstate movement, and release of biological control organisms. On 18 May 2020, APHIS made public the first comprehensive revision of regulations on genetically engineered organisms since 1987 to facilitate the development of genetically engineered organisms that are unlikely to pose plant pest risks. (...)

Table 3.30 Government corporations and independent establishments, 2022
Government corporation - International Clean Energy Foundation
Legal reference - 42 U.S.C. 17352
Area of operation - Foreign assistance for greenhouse gas reduction

3.374. (...) The latest report prepared under the the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the 2018 Foreign Economic Espionage in Cyberspace Report, which identified a number of "Targeted Technologies", including: energy/alternative energy; biotechnology; defense technology; environmental protection; high-end manufacturing; and information and communications technology.

4.7. As in other countries, U.S. farmers may experience revenue stress due to natural disasters, market disruptions, and other events. Most current U.S. farm support programs are designed to help mitigate risk and provide a safety net when prices or revenue fall, or when producers experience crop or livestock losses. Support does not cover all losses, and agricultural producers bear some of the risk and costs. (...)

4.8. (...) The principal environmental land retirement program – the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) – was continued with an increase in the maximum acreage and tighter limits on how per acre rental rates are set. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and the Regional Conservation Partnerships Program (RCPP) were reauthorized with increased funding. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) was also reauthorized, but with reduced funding. Overall, mandatory conservation spending increased by 2%.

4.9. New features in the 2018 Farm Act include additional programs for specialty crops, organic farmers,(...). Title IX (Energy) extends eight programs and one initiative through FY2023, and creates a grant program focusing on carbon sequestration and biogas systems. (...)