Title 7 › CHAPTER 100 — AGRICULTURAL MARKET TRANSITION › SUBCHAPTER III — NONRECOURSE MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS AND LOAN DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS › § 7236
The Secretary must give marketing certificates or cash (recipient’s choice) to U.S. cotton users and exporters through July 31, 2003, when two price tests are met after a consecutive four-week period. First, the weekly (Friday-to-Thursday) average price quote for the lowest-priced U.S. growth, quoted as Middling (M) 13/32-inch cotton delivered C.I.F. Northern Europe, is more than 1.25 cents per pound above the Northern Europe price. Second, the world market price for upland cotton (adjusted to U.S. quality and location) is no more than 134 percent of the upland cotton loan rate. The certificate or cash value equals the price difference in the fourth week minus 1.25 cents per pound, multiplied by the documented quantity sold. The Secretary will set rules for cashing, trading, or exchanging certificates for commodities the Commodity Credit Corporation owns or holds as collateral, will allow owners to pick preferred commodities or storage when practical, and will allow transfers under regulations. The President must run two kinds of import quota programs. A special import quota (in effect through July 31, 2003) starts immediately when the Secretary finds that the Friday-to-Thursday U.S. price (adjusted for any certificate value) exceeds the Northern Europe price by more than 1.25 cents, unless the Secretary estimates the season-ending U.S. stocks-to-use ratio will be below 16 percent (in which case certificate values are not used in the price test). That special quota equals one week’s domestic mill consumption (seasonally adjusted three-month average), applies to cotton purchased within 90 days and entered within 180 days of the announcement, and may overlap other special quota periods but not quotas from the next program. A limited global import quota starts when the monthly average base-quality price in designated markets exceeds 130 percent of its 36-month average. That quota equals 21 days’ domestic mill consumption (with adjusted rules if a quota occurred in the prior 12 months), may be entered within 90 days, cannot overlap other quota periods, and both quotas get in-quota tariff treatment. Supply and demand definitions and the 5-week annual cap on special-quota imports are used to calculate quantities.
Full Legal Text
Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 7236
Title 7, Agriculture
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110