The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued a direct final rule, decreasing the fee paid by importers of cotton and cotton-containing products under the Cotton Research and Promotion Order. The effective date is December 4, 2020, without further action or notice, unless significant adverse comment is received by November 4, 2020.
The current assessment rate on imported cotton is $1.2222 cents per kilogram. The revised assessment rate is $1.1562 cents per kilogram, a decrease of $0.066 cents per kilogram. This reflects the increase in the average weighted price of Upland cotton received by U.S. farmers during the period January through December 2019, assuring both importers and domestic parties are assessed at the same rate.
AMS also amended the Import Assessment Table which identifies the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification numbers subject to this assessment, the corresponding conversion factor and the assessment rate for that HTS.
Revenue generated by these assessments is used to finance research and promotion programs designed to increase consumer demand for upland cotton in the U.S. and international markets.
Please contact your Livingston account manager with questions.