Cotton's Agenda

The National Cotton Council’s export promotions arm, Cotton Council International, is making U.S. cotton the preferred fiber for end users — mills, manufacturers, brands, retailers and consumers. Does CCI have a new initiative? In 2017, Cotton Council International launched “COTTON USA...

Congressional leaders hope by Christmas to wrap a bow around the first comprehensive tax reform in 30 years — a measure on which the National Cotton Council has actively conveyed its priorities. What input has the NCC provided? Among recent actions,...

As the 2017 harvest and ginning season proceeds, many cotton producers and ginners are facing a difficult business climate. What is the overall economic situation? Almost 100 percent of U.S. cotton production is exported as either raw fiber or textiles. As...

The U.S. cotton industry recently formalized goals to help further reduce the environmental impact of U.S.-grown cotton — a step that will improve the raw material’s popularity in the global textile sector. How did this come about? Four years ago, Cotton...

U.S. cotton and its agribusiness allies are partnering with EPA to address risk and policy-based issues. To ensure continued availability of proven plant protection products, the National Cotton Council closely monitors EPA’s pesticide review process and provides input to the...

As the 2017 harvest and ginning season approaches, the National Cotton Council urges its members to continue giving top priority to lint contamination prevention. Is contamination really a threat? Yes, contamination is one of the most serious threats we face. With...

The National Cotton Council believes maintaining the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico is crucial to the U.S. cotton industry’s long-term survival. How important are exports? The U.S. cotton industry is heavily dependent on access...

The National Cotton Council is encouraged by some recent articles in which bee experts are saying that pesticides, including neonicotinoids, are not a primary cause for bee health decline. What are these scientists saying? In spite of the perception that pesticides are...

What about world fiber consumption? A major reason behind the decline of cotton’s share of global fiber consumption is that global synthetic fiber production capacity is three times the level of global cotton production. That helps explain why on today’s...

The National Cotton Council (NCC) believes it is crucial that a meaningful safety net for cotton be included in the next farm bill. What is the current economic situation? During the past few years, U.S. cotton producers have struggled with cotton...

The NCC’s 2017 Economic Outlook was presented at the organization’s annual meeting in February. The National Cotton Council’s priorities for 2017 range from exploring all opportunities to improve cotton’s safety net to aggressively working to ease the regulatory burdens facing...

Decision-Making Help From managing a pest flare-up to maximizing yield and quality under extreme weather, cotton producers can get valuable decision-making help from the annual National Cotton Council-coordinated Beltwide Cotton Conferences (BWCC). How is information presented at the BWCC? Individual research reports,...

Among challenges to the U.S. cotton industry’s competitiveness are securing an improved safety net for producers, making inroads against the competition from man-made fibers, maintaining U.S. cotton’s supply chain reputation and averting burdensome regulations. Is cottonseed policy attainable? Obtaining cottonseed eligibility...

A sold-out audience of the most influential executives in the global cotton fiber and textile business, representing 26 countries, attended the ninth Sourcing USA Summit last month in California. Who conducts the Summit? Cotton Council International (CCI) hosts the biennial Summit...

Although export of raw cotton has become essential to U.S. cotton producers’ economic well-being, the National Cotton Council continues its longstanding work for our domestic textile industry. How about assistance in the legislative arena? n A major effort is the NCC’s work to maintain the highly successful “Economic Assistance to Users of Upland Cotton” program first introduced in 2008 farm law and reauthorized in the 2014 bill. This program makes a payment of 3 cents per pound to U.S. textile manufacturers for all upland cotton consumed. Payments must be used for specific purposes such as acquisition, construction, installation, modernization, development, conversion, or expansion of land, plant buildings, equipment, facilities or machinery. More recently, the NCC has been working with the Washington D.C.-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and key lawmakers to make sure the Berry Amendment is not weakened in the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act. That Amendment requires the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to purchase textiles and apparel made with 100 percent U.S. fiber and labor. Likewise, the NCC, NCTO and others have conveyed to lawmakers the critical need for Export-Import Bank Reauthorization. The Ex-Im Bank provides important financing for the U.S. textile industry and its ability to export products.