Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73not60
§54 Classification by Department of Agriculture; Certification Thereof; Effect of Certificate; Regulations for Classification
Title 7 › Chapter 2— COTTON STANDARDS › § 54
Summary
Anyone who holds cotton or has a financial interest in it can send the cotton or samples, taken under the Agriculture Secretary’s rules, to USDA officers chosen for that job. The USDA can decide the cotton’s proper classification and compare it with other samples if asked. The USDA’s final certificate must be accepted by U.S. officials and used in federal courts as initial proof of that classification or comparison. The Secretary must make rules for submitting samples and require numbering so classifiers do not know who has an interest.
Full Legal Text
Title 7, §54
Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Any person who has custody of or a financial interest in any cotton may submit the same or samples thereof, drawn in accordance with the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, to such officer or officers of the Department of Agriculture, as may be designated for the purpose pursuant to the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture for a determination of the true classification of such cotton or samples, including the comparison thereof, if requested, with types or other samples submitted for the purpose. The final certificate of the Department of Agriculture showing such determination shall be binding on officers of the United States and shall be accepted in the courts of the United States as prima facie evidence of the true classification or comparison of such cotton or samples when involved in any transaction or shipment in commerce. The Secretary of Agriculture shall fix rules and regulations for submitting samples of cotton for classification providing that all samples shall be numbered so that no one interested in the transaction involved shall be known by any classifier engaged in the classification of such cotton samples.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 54
Title 7 — Agriculture
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60