As used throughout this subpart, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall mean:

(a) ASCS means the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(b) Cotton Board means the administrative body established pursuant to the Cotton Research and Promotion Order.

(c) CCC means the Commodity Credit Corporation.

(d) Current value of Cotton means the gross price per pound of lint cotton received by the producer for cotton as shown on the producers' settlement document before deductions are made for weight penalties, buyer's commission or brokerage fees, marketing fees, the $1 per bale cotton research and promotion assessment, picking charges, ginning charges, warehouse receiving charges, warehouse storage charges, transportation charges or any other charges, plus any amount received by a producer in the form of a loan deficiency payment with respect to such cotton.

(e) Form A means Cotton Producer's Note, Form CCC Cotton A.

(f) Gin code number means the identification number assigned to each cotton gin by the Cotton Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(g) Handle means to harvest, gin, warehouse, compress, purchase, market, transport, or otherwise acquire ownership or control of cotton.

(h) Handler means any person who handles cotton, including CCC.

(i) Marketing means any sale of cotton, or the pledging of cotton to CCC as collateral for a price support loan.

(j) Marketing year means a consecutive 12-month period ending on July 31.

(k) Person means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or any other entity, whether governmental or private.

(l) Producer means any person who owns or shares in a cotton crop (or in the proceeds thereof) as landowner, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper.

(m) Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, or any officer or employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to whom authority has heretofore been delegated, or to whom authority may hereafter be delegated, to act in the Secretary's stead.

(n) Loan deficiency payment means any payment on Upland cotton made by the Commodity Credit Corporation to a producer in accordance with 7 CFR 713.55.

(o) Importer means any person who enters, or withdraws from warehouse, cotton for consumption in the customs territory of the United States and import means any such entry.

(p) Customs Service means the United States Customs Service of the United States Department of Treasury.

(q) Cotton means:

(1) All Upland cotton harvested in the United States, and, except as used in section 7(e) of the Act, includes cottonseed of such cotton and the products derived from such cotton and its seed, and

(2) Imports of Upland cotton, including the Upland cotton content of the products derived thereof. The term cotton shall not, however, include:

(i) Any entry of imported cotton by an importer which has a value or weight less than a de minimis amount established in regulations issued by the Secretary and

(ii) Industrial products as that term is defined by regulation.

(r) Industrial products means cotton-containing products which are classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States under classifications other than textile classifications. Certain cotton-containing textile products under textile classifications shall also be considered to be industrial products, and are therefore not included in the table appearing in these regulations as products subject to assessment. Such products include, but are not limited to textile fabrics coated, impregnated, covered, or laminated, with other materials, textile piping and tubing, and belting materials.

All reports, requests, applications for reimbursements, and communications in connection with the Cotton Research and Promotion Order shall be addressed as follows: Cotton Board, Post Office Box 2121, Memphis, Tennessee, 38101-2121.

(a) Producer assessments. An assessment of $1 per bale for cotton research and promotion is hereby levied on each bale of Upland cotton that is produced from cotton harvested and ginned except cotton consumed by any governmental agency from its own production. Such assessment shall be payable and collected only once on each bale.

(1) A supplemental assessment for cotton research and promotion in addition to the $1 per bale assessment provided for in paragraph (a) of this section, is hereby levied on each bale of Upland cotton harvested and ginned except cotton consumed by any governmental agency from its own production. The supplemental assessment rate shall be levied at the rate of five-tenths of one percent of:

(i) The current value of the cotton multiplied by the number of pounds of lint cotton or;

(ii) The current value of the cotton converted to a fixed amount per bale as reflected in the following assessment chart:

(2) Each marketing year the collecting handler must select one of the two options for collecting the supplemental assessment as provided in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. The handler shall notify the Cotton Board as to the method selected at the time the handler files the first handler report each marketing year.

(b) Importer assessment. An assessment for cotton research and promotion of $1 per bale is hereby levied on each bale of cotton, or the bale equivalent thereof for cotton in cotton-containing products identified in the HTS conversion factor table in paragraph (b)(3) of this section and imported into the United States on or after July 31, 1992. The $1 per bale assessment shall be converted to a fixed amount per kilogram to facilitate the U.S. Customs Service in collecting this assessment.

(1) A supplemental assessment for cotton research and promotion in addition to the $1 per bale assessment provided for in paragraph (b) of this section is hereby levied on each bale of cotton or bale equivalent of cotton in cotton-containing products, identified in this subpart, imported into the United States on or after July 31, 1992. The supplemental assessment shall be levied at the rate of five-tenths of one percent of the historical value of cotton as determined by the Secretary and expressed in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. The rate of the supplemental assessment on imported cotton will be the same as that levied on cotton produced within the United States. The supplemental assessment will be calculated as a fixed amount per kilogram and added to the $1 per bale or bale equivalent assessment to facilitate the Customs Service in collecting assessments.

(2) The 12-month average of monthly weighted average prices received by U.S. farmers will be calculated annually. Such weighted average will be used as the value of imported cotton for the purpose of levying the supplemental assessment on imported cotton and will be expressed in kilograms. The value of imported cotton for the purpose of levying this supplemental assessment is $1.3247 cents per kilogram.

(3) The following table contains Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification numbers and corresponding conversion factors and assessments. The left column of the following table indicates the HTS classifications of imported cotton and cotton-containing products subject to assessment. The center column indicates the conversion factor for determining the raw fiber content for each kilogram of the HTS. HTS numbers for raw cotton have no conversion factor in the table. The right column indicates the total assessment per kilogram of the article assessed. In the event that any HTS number subject to assessment is changed and such change is merely a replacement of a previous number and has no impact on the physical properties, description, or cotton content of the product involved, assessments will continue to be collected based on the new number.