§7937 Special marketing loan provisions for upland cotton

Summary

The President must run special import quota programs for upland cotton from May 13, 2002, through July 31, 2008. One kind of quota kicks in if, for any four-week stretch, the U.S. price for a standard cotton grade is more than 1.25 cents per pound above the Northern Europe price. If that happens, a special quota equal to one week’s domestic mill use (based on the recent three months) goes into effect. Cotton bought under that quota must be purchased within 90 days and entered into the United States within 180 days. If U.S. ending stocks-to-use are estimated below 16 percent, the price comparison is made without an adjustment. Through July 31, 2006, the price test is applied without the 1.25-cent threshold. Special quota imports count as in-quota for tariff rules and a marketing-year cap of five weeks’ consumption applies. A second, limited global quota starts if the monthly base cotton price is over 130 percent of its 36-month average. That quota equals 21 days’ mill use, unless a quota was used in the last 12 months, in which case the next quota is the smaller of 21 days or the amount needed to raise supply to 130 percent of demand. “Supply” means beginning stocks, current production, and recent imports. “Demand” means recent mill use plus export measures. Limited global quota imports count as in-quota and may be entered for 90 days. No quota under this rule can overlap another quota period.