USDA proposes to adjust import cotton fee

USDA proposes to adjust import cotton fee    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has proposed to amend its Cotton Board Rules and Regulations by adjusting the total rate of assessment per kilogram for imported cotton.
   The fee is used to support the USDA’s Cotton Research and Promotion Program.
   The proposed total rate of assessment would be calculated by adding together the $1-per-bale equivalent assessment and the supplemental assessment, and adjusting the sum to account for the estimated amount of U.S. cotton contained in imported textile products, the agency said.
   “The proposed adjustment would reduce the assessable portion of the cotton content of imported textile products by the estimated average amount of U.S. cotton contained therein,” the USDA said.
   The USDA said exemptions and refunds would continue to be provided to importers wishing to document the U.S. cotton content of specific goods.
   “The proposed rule would continue to ensure that the total assessment collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products remain similar to those paid on domestically produced cotton, and that the U.S. cotton content of imported products is not subject to more than one assessment,” the USDA said.
   The USDA estimates that there are about 10,000 cotton importers subject to the proposed fee changes.
   The agency will take comments about the proposed rulemaking through March 14. For more information, access online: https://www.ams.usda.gov/cotton/rulemaking.htm.