Rice
The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service reports that the Philippines has announced a 60-day suspension of rice imports starting Sept. 1. FAS states that U.S. rice exports shipped via containers may be at risk arriving in the Philippines after a Sept. 15 deadline due to the distance between the U.S. and the Philippines U.S. rice exporters with shipments enroute to the Philippines or questions concerning this temporary ban should contact agmanila@usda.gov.
Cotton
FAS states that on Aug. 19 India temporarily removed its 11 percent import duty on cotton until Sept. 30. However, it is unclear whether this deadline applies to bills of entry filed before or until that date or if it pertains to vessels arriving on that date.
According to FAS, this measure aims to provide relief to India’s textile and apparel industry, which faces challenges from higher U.S. tariffs and rising domestic fiber costs. The duty exemption is expected to help Indian textile exporters access cheaper, high-quality raw materials, particularly U.S. cotton, and to increase their competitiveness with respect to producers in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam, which benefit from significantly lower U.S. tariff rates.
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