Uncle Sam has spent north of $2 billion to subsidize the advertising costs of wealthy private American companies and trade groups overseas. Under a little-known initiative called Market Access Program (MAP) the U.S. government uses tax dollars to help them promote their private market goods to foreign buyers.
Sunkist Growers with annual sales exceeding $1.2 billion, has received $34.1 million since 1999 for overseas advertising. California raisin growers got $31.7 million since 1998 to promote their product internationally and Blue Diamond Growers, the world’s largest almond producer, got more than $28 million during the same period. A reality television fashion and design show in India got $20 million to promote cotton.
The National Confectioners Association, which includes Hershey’s, Godiva and Mars (Snickers, M&Ms) has received more than $14 million in the past decade, including $1.3 million in 2012. The country’s liquor trade group, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), gets around $200,000 annually to court importers, nightclub owners and bartenders in Russia, the Czech Republic, China, India, South Korea and Brazil.
No comments:
Post a Comment