2000 Amendment to Cotton Board Rules and Regulations Adjusting Supplemental Assessment on Imports

AGENCY:

Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations by lowering the value assigned to imported cotton for the purpose of calculating supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. This action is required by this regulation on an annual basis to ensure that the assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products remain similar to those paid on domestically produced cotton.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

May 31, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Whitney Rick, (202) 720-2259.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule has been determined to be “non significant” for purposes of Executive Order 12866, and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. This rule would not preempt any state or local laws, regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule.

The Cotton Research and Promotion Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted before parties may file suit in court. Under Section 12 of the Act, any person subject to an order may file with the Secretary a petition stating that the order, any provision of the plan, or any obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance with law and requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted therefrom. Such person is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. After the hearing, the Secretary would rule on the petition. The Act provides that the District Court of the United States in any district in which the person is an inhabitant, or has his principal place of business, has jurisdiction to review the Secretary's ruling, provided a complaint is filed within 20 days from the date of the entry of ruling.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) AMS has considered the economic impact of this action on small entities and has determined that its implementation will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses.

There are an estimated 10,000 importers who are presently subject to rules and regulations issued pursuant to the Cotton Research and Promotion Order. This rule would affect importers of cotton and cotton-containing products. The majority of these importers are small businesses under the criteria established by the Small Business Administration. This rule would lower the assessments paid by the importers under the Cotton Research and Promotion Order. Even though the assessment will be lowered, the decrease is small and will not significantly affect small businesses.

The current assessment on imported cotton is $0.011397 per kilogram of imported cotton. The amended assessment is $0.009833, a decrease of $0.001564 or a 13.72 percent decrease from the current assessment. From January through December 1999 approximately $23 million was collected at the $0.011397 per kilogram rate. Should the volume of cotton products imported into the U.S. remain at the same level in 2000, one could expect the decreased assessment to generate approximately $19.8 million or a 13.72 percent decrease from 1999.

Paperwork Reduction

In compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations (5 CFR part 1320) which implement the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) the information collection requirements contained in the regulation to be amended have been previously approved by OMB and were assigned control number 0581-0093.

Background

The Cotton Research and Promotion Act Amendments of 1990 enacted by Congress under Subtitle G of Title XIX of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990 on November 28, 1990, contained two provisions that authorized changes in the funding procedures for the Cotton Research and Promotion Program.

These provisions are: (1) The assessment of imported cotton and cotton products; and (2) termination of the right of cotton producers to demand a refund of assessments.

An amended Cotton Research and Promotion Order was approved by producers and importers voting in a referendum held July 17-26, 1991 and the amended Order was published in the Federal Register on December 10, 1991, (56 FR 64470). Proposed rules implementing the amended Order were published in the Federal Register on December 17, 1991, (56 FR 65450). Implementing rules were published on July 1 and 2, 1992, (57 FR 29181) and (57 FR 29431), respectively.

This rule will decrease the value assigned to imported cotton in the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations (7 CFR 1205.510 (b) (2)). This value is used to calculate supplemental assessments on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products. Supplemental assessments are the second part of a two-part assessment. The first part of the assessment is levied on the weight of cotton produced or imported at a rate of $1 per bale of cotton which is equivalent to 500 pounds or $1 per 226.8 kilograms of cotton.

Supplemental assessments are levied at a rate of five-tenths of one percent of the value of domestically produced cotton, imported cotton, and the cotton content of imported products. The agency has adopted the practice of assigning the calendar year weighted average price received by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton to represent the value of imported cotton. This is done so that the assessment on domestically produced cotton and the assessment on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products remain similar. The source for the average price statistic is “Agricultural Prices”, a publication of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the Department of Agriculture. Use of the weighted average price figure in the calculation of supplemental assessments on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products yields an assessment that approximates assessments paid on domestically produced cotton in the prior calendar year.

The current value of imported cotton as published in the Federal Register (64 FR 30236) on June 7, 1999, for the purpose of calculating supplemental assessments on imported cotton is $1.3977 per kilogram. This number was calculated using the annual weighted average price received by farmers for Upland cotton during the calendar year 1998 which was $0.634 per pound and multiplying by the conversion factor 2.2046. Using the Average Weighted Price Received by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton for the calendar year 1999, which is $0.492 per pound, the new value of imported cotton is $1.0847 per kilogram. The amended value is $0.313 per kilogram less than the previous value.

An example of the complete assessment formula and how the various figures are obtained is as follows:

One bale is equal to 500 pounds.

One kilogram equals 2.2046 pounds.

One pound equals 0.453597 kilograms.

One Dollar Per Bale Assessment Converted to Kilograms

A 500 pound bale equals 226.8 kg. (500 × .453597).

$1 per bale assessment equals $0.002000 per pound (1 ÷ 500) or $0.004409 per kg. (1 ÷ 226.8).

Supplemental Assessment of 5/10 of One Percent of the Value of the Cotton Converted to Kilograms.

The 1999 calendar year weighted average price received by producers for Upland cotton is $0.492 per pound or $1.0847 per kg. (0.492 × 2.2046) = 1.0847.

Five tenths of one percent of the average price in kg. equals $0.005424 per kg. (1.0847 × .005).

Total Assessment

The total assessment per kilogram of raw cotton in obtained by adding the $1 per bale equivalent assessment of $0.004409 per kg. and the supplemental assessment $0.005424 per kg. which equals $0.009833 per kg.

The current assessment on imported cotton is $0.011397 per kilogram of imported cotton. The amended assessment is $0.009833, a decrease of $0.001564 per kilogram. This decrease reflects the decrease in the Average Weighted Price of Upland Cotton Received by U.S. Farmers during the period January through December 1999.

Since the value of cotton is the basis of the supplemental assessment calculation and the figures shown in the right hand column of the Import Assessment Table 1205.510 (b)(3) are a result of such a calculation, the figures in this table have been revised. These figures indicate the total assessment per kilogram due for each Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number subject to assessment.

A proposed rule with a request for comments was published in the Federal Register (65 FR 12141) on March 8, 2000. No comments were received during the comment period (March 8 through April 7, 2000).

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1205

• Advertising
• Agricultural research
• Cotton
• Marketing agreements
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1205 is amended as follows:

PART 1205—COTTON RESEARCH AND PROMOTION

1. The authority citation for Part 1205 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2101-2118.

2. In § 1205.510, paragraph (b)(2) and the table in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) are revised to read as follows: