[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 171 (Thursday, September 3, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53265-53266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21865]
========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 171 / Thursday, September 3, 2015 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 53265]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1205
[Doc. # AMS-CN-15-0013]
Cotton Board Rules and Regulations: Adjusting Supplemental
Assessment on Imports (2015 Amendments)
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: AMS proposes to amend the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations
by decreasing the value assigned to imported cotton for calculating
supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and
Promotion Program. The amendment is required each year to ensure that
assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of
imported products will be the same as those paid on domestically
produced cotton.
AMS is publishing this amendment as a direct final rule without
prior proposal because the action is contemplated by statute and
required by regulation and the agency anticipates no significant
adverse comment. AMS has explained its reasons in the preamble of the
direct final rule. If AMS receives no significant adverse comment
during the comment period, no further action on this proposed rule will
be taken. If, however, AMS receives significant adverse comment, AMS
will withdraw the direct final rule and it will not take effect. In
that case, AMS will address all public comments in a subsequent final
rule based on this proposed rule. AMS will not institute a second
comment period on this rule. Any parties interested in commenting must
do so during this comment period. This proposed rule is a companion
document to the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) direct final
rule (published today in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of the
Federal Register).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 5, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to the addresses specified
below. All comments will be made available to the public. Please do not
include any personally identifiable information (such as name, address,
or other contact information) or confidential business information that
you do not want publically disclosed. All comments may be posted on the
Internet and can be retrieved by most Internet search engines. Comments
may be submitted anonymously.
Comments, identified by AMS-CN-15-0013, may be submitted
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Please follow the instructions for submitting
comments. In addition, comments may be submitted by mail or hand
delivery to Cotton Research and Promotion Staff, Cotton and Tobacco
Program, AMS, USDA, 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite 101, Fredericksburg,
Virginia 22406. Comments should be submitted in triplicate. All
comments received will be made available for public inspection at
Cotton and Tobacco Program, AMS, USDA, 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite
101, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22406. A copy of this document may be
found at: www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shethir M. Riva, Chief, Research and
Promotion Staff, Cotton and Tobacco Program, AMS, USDA, 100 Riverside
Parkway, Suite 101, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22406, telephone (540)
361-2726, facsimile (540) 361-1199, or email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As noted above, in the ``Rules and
Regulations'' section of today's Federal Register, the direct final
rule being published would amend the value assigned to imported cotton
in the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations (7 CFR 1205.510(b)(2)) that
is used to determine the Cotton Research and Promotion assessment on
imported cotton and cotton products. The total value of assessment
levied on cotton imports is the sum of two parts. The first part of the
assessment is based on the weight of cotton imported--levied at a rate
of $1 per bale of cotton, which is equivalent to 500 pounds, or $1 per
226.8 kilograms of cotton. The second part of the import assessment
(referred to as the supplemental assessment) is based on the value of
imported cotton lint or the cotton contained in imported cotton
products--levied at a rate of five-tenths of one percent of the value
of domestically produced cotton.
Section 1205.510(b)(2) of the Cotton Research and Promotion Rules
and Regulations provides for assigning the calendar year weighted
average price received by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton to represent
the value of imported cotton. This is so that the assessment on
domestically produced cotton and the assessment on imported cotton and
the cotton content of imported products is the same. The source for the
average price statistic is Agricultural Prices, a publication of the
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the Department of
Agriculture. Use of the weighted average price figure in the
calculation of supplemental assessments on imported cotton and the
cotton content of imported products will yield an assessment that is
the same as assessments paid on domestically produced cotton.
The current value of imported cotton as published in 2014 in the
Federal Register (79 FR 36183) for the purpose of calculating
assessments on imported cotton is $0.012728 per kilogram. Using the
Average Weighted Price received by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton for
the calendar year 2014, the direct final rule would amend the new value
of imported cotton to $0.012013 per kilogram to reflect the price paid
by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton during 2014.
An example of the complete assessment formula and how the figures
are obtained is as follows:
One bale is equal to 500 pounds.
One kilogram equals 2.2046 pounds.
One pound equals 0.453597 kilograms.
One Dollar per Bale Assessment Converted to Kilograms
A 500-pound bale equals 226.8 kg. (500 x 0.453597).
$1 per bale assessment equals $0.002000 per pound or $0.2000 cents
per pound (1/500) or $0.004409 per kg or $0.4409 cents per kg. (1/
226.8).
Supplemental Assessment of 5/10 of One Percent of the Value of the
Cotton Converted to Kilograms
The 2014 calendar year weighted average price received by producers
for
[[Page 53266]]
Upland cotton is $0.690 per pound or $1.521 per kg. ($0.690 x 2.2046).
Five tenths of one percent of the average price equals $0.007604
per kg. (1.521 x 0.005).
Total Assessment
The total assessment per kilogram of raw cotton is obtained by
adding the $1 per bale equivalent assessment of $0.004409 per kg. and
the supplemental assessment $0.007604 per kg., which equals $0.012013
per kg.
The current assessment on imported cotton is $0.012728 per kilogram
of imported cotton. The revised assessment in this direct final rule is
$0.012013, a decrease of $0.000715 per kilogram. This decrease reflects
the decrease in the average weighted price of Upland cotton received by
U.S. Farmers during the period January through December 2014.
Import Assessment Table in section 1205.510(b)(3) indicates the
total assessment rate ($ per kilogram) due for each Harmonized Tariff
Schedule number that is subject to assessment. This table must be
revised each year to reflect changes in supplemental assessment rates
and any changes to the HTS numbers. In this direct final rule, AMS is
amending the Import Assessment Table.
AMS believes that these amendments are necessary to ensure that
assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of
imported products are the same as those paid on domestically produced
cotton. Accordingly, changes reflected in this rule should be adopted
and implemented as soon as possible since it is required by regulation.
The amendment proposed by this document is the same as the
amendment contained in the direct final rule. Please refer to the
preamble and regulatory text of the direct final rule for further
information and the actual text of the amendment. Statutory review and
Executive Orders for this proposed rule can be found in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of the direct final rule.
A 30-day comment period is provided to comment on the changes to
the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations proposed herein. This period is
deemed appropriate because this rule would decrease the assessments
paid by importers under the Cotton Research and Promotion Order. An
amendment is required to adjust the assessments collected on imported
cotton and the cotton content of imported products to be the same as
those paid on domestically produced cotton. Accordingly, the change in
this rule, if adopted, should be implemented as soon as possible.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2101-2118.
Dated: August 28, 2015.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-21865 Filed 9-2-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P