TN/AG/GEN/34/Rev.4/Add.2  
TN/AG/SCC/GEN/13/Rev.4/Add.2  
 
26 July 2016  
(16-3957)  Page: 1/4  
Committee on Agriculture 
Special Session 
Sub-Committee on Cotton    
 
 COTTON 
BACKGROUND PAPER BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
Addendum 
This document contains three additional replies from Burkina Faso, Uganda and the United States 
of America, respectively, to the questionnaire on recent policy developments for cotton, which was circulated on 22 February 2016
2, and should be read in conjunction with Annex 4 of document 
TN/AG/GEN/34/Rev.4 -  TN/AG/SCC/GEN/13/Rev.4, which was circulated on 17 June 2016. 
                                               
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO. It has been prepared for 
information only and is not intended to provide any authoritative or official legal interpretation of the provisions 
of the WTO Agreements in genera l or in relation to any measure listed in this document. 
2 The French and Spanish versions of the questionnaire were circulated on 8 March 2016. TN/AG/GEN/34/Rev.4/Add.2 • TN/AG/SCC/GEN/13/Rev.4/Add.2 
 
- 2 - 
 
  Reply from Burkina Faso 
Pillars Cotton-related policy developments Comments 
Market access N/A N/A 
Domestic support N/A N/A 
Export competition N/A N/A 
Note: For the 2016/2017 cotton season, Burkina Faso's cotton sector has decided to produce 100% 
conventional cotton (0% geneticall y modified (GM) cotton, which ha s been grown commercially since 
2008/2009). This temporary decline in GM cotton production is  due to the detection of shorter fibres in the GM 
cotton being produced. Owing to the high proportion of sh ort fibres in the cotton, considerable financial losses 
were recorded by the sector at the end of the marketing years 2011/2012 through 2015/2016. The Burkinabe 
cotton sector and its partner Monsanto, which developed GM cotton, are currently working closely together to 
find a solution to the issue of short GM cotton fibres. TN/AG/GEN/34/Rev.4/Add.2 • TN/AG/SCC/GEN/13/Rev.4/Add.2 
 
- 3 - 
 
  Reply from Uganda 
The government of the Republic of Uganda informs that there has not been any new cotton related 
regulations or policy developments in the three pillars: Market Access; Domestic Support; and 
Export Competition.  TN/AG/GEN/34/Rev.4/Add.2 • TN/AG/SCC/GEN/13/Rev.4/Add.2 
 
- 4 - 
 
  Reply from the United States of America 
On 6 June 2016, USDA announced the Cotton Ginning Cost-Share programme, which provides 
cost-share assistance payments to cotton producers. Cotton ginning is a necessary requirement for producers to market the lint for fibre or the seed for oil or feed. Through the Cotton Ginning Cost-
Share programme, eligible producers can receive a one-time cost share payment in 2016, which is 
based on a producer's past plantings (i.e., 2015 cotton planted acres) and 40% of the average 
ginning cost in each of the four production regi ons. The programme is limited in scope by payment 
caps and eligibility requirements for producers.  
 Any payments under the programme will be based on the 2015 cotton plantings and are not connected to either current or future production . Sign-up for U.S. producers began on 20 June and 
will run through 5 August 2016.   
 
__________