State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > California > Fac > 701-705FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE
SECTION 701-705
701. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) California farm sales, which are of vital importance to California agriculture and the state's economy, have been adversely affected by increasing foreign imports and a loss of export markets as a result of numerous factors including, in some cases, unfair trade practices of foreign governments and foreign business enterprises. (b) Under the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. Sec. 2101 et seq.), an interested party may file a petition with the United States Trade Representative to negotiate for a remedy when any act, policy, or practice of a foreign government is inconsistent with international trade agreements, or otherwise unreasonable, unjustifiable, or discriminatory and is a burden or is restrictive to United States commerce, or if a foreign government fails to grant United States rights under a trade agreement. (c) Agricultural parties at interest under the act are encountering difficulties in obtaining these remedies. They are encountering a lengthy, costly, political process which requires extensive factfinding to show significant interest and substantial damage. 702. It is the intent of the Legislature to support the multilateral and bilateral free and fair trade negotiation process currently in place, but to provide California agricultural parties at interest with additional support through state involvement and unified statistical data compilation and analysis to contribute to a more effective and persuasive presentation of cases brought by California agricultural interests. 703. The department may, upon the request of a California agricultural interest which is pursuing a case under Section 301 or 302 of the Trade Act of 1974, gather and provide analytical assistance, information, and data in support of the case. 704. The director shall establish a reasonable schedule of fees to cover the amount expended for providing analytical assistance, information, and data requested by the California agricultural interest pursuant to this chapter. 705. All state agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Finance and the Employment Development Department shall cooperate with the director in the compilation of pertinent statistical data and shall respond to requests by the director for information in a timely manner.
