Davis College is in Pursuit of Prime

International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness

Policy Briefs

August 2026

An Examination of Foreign Subsidies and Trade Policies for Sugar

The ICAC hosts and maintains a database of subsidies and trade policy information for public use. The report summarizes the information obtained and housed in the database relating to sugar in key producing, consuming, exporting, and importing countries.

The report covers 29 countries (including the EU), which, according to USDA data for 2025/26, account for 86.2% of global sugar production, 68.8% of global consumption, and 87% of global exports.

August 2026

Margin Coverage Option: A Different Approach to Covering Shallow Losses

When it comes to covering shallow losses there are many options available to growers. The least expensive options are through the USDA Farm Service Agency and offer either revenue or price protection, albeit with the limitations of narrow coverage bands and pay limits. A second set of options include insurance-based products offered through the USDA Risk Management Agency and the Federal Crop Insurance program.

One of the newest is the Margin Coverage Option (MCO), which covers a five percent band from 95 percent down to 90 percent, but adds changes in input costs (instead of just price and yield) to determine when a loss of potential margin (i.e.-profit) has been incurred.

April 2026

Will the Buy American Cotton Act (BACA) Save the U.S. Cotton Industry?

The Buy American Cotton Act (BACA) of 2026 would authorize a set of domestic tax credits designed to incentivize the consumption of U.S. cotton and products manufactured from U.S. cotton produced both domestically and imported.

While the program is designed specifically to increase demand for U.S. cotton and promote domestic consumption of U.S. cotton, the question is how effective a program like this is to lead to improved markets for U.S. cotton producers.

Cotton Reports

October 2026

U.S. Apparel Imports under the 2025 Tariffs: Costs, Volumes, and Sourcing Shifts

This report examines U.S. apparel imports from January 2020 through June 2026 across all 49 broad OTEXA apparel categories classified as cotton-dominant or man-made-fiber (MMF)-dominant. It evaluates changes in import value, square-meter-equivalent (SME) volume, calculated duty, border cost, and sourcing after the 2025 tariff changes. The results show sharply higher duty burdens, weaker imports in 2026, and a large shift away from China, with sourcing concentration moving in different directions for cotton- and MMF-dominant apparel.

June 2026