USDA REDUCES COTTON IMPORTER ASSESSMENT FEE
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will reduce the cotton fee Customs collects on imports containing cotton by 13.7 percent, effective May 31.
The fee, which is used to fund the Cotton Research and Promotion Program, reflects the 1999 annual average price received by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton. Last year, about 10,000 importers paid a total of $23 million into the program.
Cotton rates, which are associated with as many as 700 Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers, are re-evaluated by the USDA each year.