The National Cotton Council says the Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposal includes a number of extremely concerning program reductions and eliminations that, if implemented, would severely compromise policies that are critical to America’s cotton farming families.
The NCC emphasized that U.S. cotton producers already are struggling with difficult economic conditions and the lack of access to the same complement of farm bill risk management tools as other crop producers. With U.S. cotton producers forced to compete against cotton producers in other countries that benefit from extensive and complex subsidies and a man-made fiber sector with tremendous overcapacity, now is not the time to weaken U.S. farm policy.
The NCC is prepared to work closely with Congress to ensure that any budget and funding bills approved by Congress continue to provide the resources necessary for policies that promote a viable cotton industry, including an effective safety net in the 2018 farm bill.