AMS to Increase Value Assigned to Cotton for Import Fees

The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations to increase the value assigned to imported cotton for the purposes of calculating supplemental assessments on imports collected under the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. The revised value in the direct final rule is $0.011905, an increase of $0.000395 per kilogram. The increase reflects a rise in the average price of Upland cotton received by U.S. farmers during the period January through December 2017. AMS's notice also includes a table of adjusted assessments corresponding to each Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading for which they are due. The changes take effect Oct. 16, unless adverse comments are received by Sept. 17.