Can USDA’s New Great American Cotton Plan Revive Demand?

The Trump Administration is rolling out what it calls a major reset for the U.S. cotton industry, unveiling the “Great American Cotton Plan,” a USDA initiative designed to boost demand for American-grown cotton, strengthen domestic textile manufacturing and make U.S. cotton more competitive globally.

Announced Thursday by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in Arizona, the plan comes as cotton producers face a fifth straight year of negative returns amid rising production costs, synthetic fiber competition and shifting export markets.

While the Rollins says the plan is aimed at rebuilding the U.S. cotton industry, it includes several key points, including:

• Makes U.S. cotton cheaper and more attractive for apparel brands to use — even if manufacturing happens overseas
• Supports the bipartisan Buying American Cotton Act to incentivize brands to source American-grown cotton
• Encourages mills and manufacturers to build more U.S.-based textile supply chains
• Expands the “Plant Not Plastic” campaign promoting natural fibers over synthetic materials
• Increases textile mill payments from 3 cents to 5 cents per pound of cotton processed
• Prioritizes cotton processors and textile manufacturers for USDA loan programs
• Expands export opportunities for U.S. cotton through new trade commitments
• Raises cotton marketing loan rates and increases the seed cotton reference price for farm programs
• Expands crop insurance tools and research efforts to protect cotton growers

“This change starts today,” Rollins said in announcing the initiative, which ties together trade policy, manufacturing incentives and consumer marketing aimed at increasing cotton use both domestically and abroad.

“The Trump Administration is committed to ensuring American cotton once again becomes the fiber of choice with the Great American Cotton Plan, a bold effort to restore profitability for cotton producers, strengthen rural economies, rebuild domestic textile manufacturing, and bring American cotton back into the products families use every day.”

Rollins made a strong tie to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, saying supporting natural fibers like cotton aligns with the administration’s focus.

For the National Cotton Council, the announcement represents more than short-term assistance. Robbie Minnich, vice president of Washington and operations for the National Cotton Council, says the broader goal is to help the cotton industry regain long-term financial stability instead of relying solely on farm safety net programs.

“This is a plan that really a lot of us in the industry have been working on with USDA,” Minnich says. “Cotton farmers are in their fifth year of negative net returns. How do we address that and what can be done? The farm bill programs are super important as a safety net ... but more holistically, how do we get the industry back on good footing so we’re not as reliant on those programs?”

Making U.S. Cotton More Competitive

It’s no secret the cotton industry has been in peril the past five years, largely due to a dramatic cut in demand. Cotton prices have improved over the past two months, but the longer-term concerns about cotton are tied to demand.

Just last year, cotton farmers were talking about not just losing money, but losing the farm. And to start the year, things looked even more bleak with the possibility of more farmers forced to exit the business this year. The main reason? Demand for synthetic fibers had overtaken demand for cotton.

But a central goal of the plan announced this week is to make American cotton more attractive and affordable for textile brands, even if final products are manufactured overseas. USDA officials say the strategy is designed to lower costs for mills using U.S. cotton while rewarding companies that can trace and verify American-grown fiber in their supply chains.

One key piece is continued support for the bipartisan Buying American Cotton Act, legislation intended to create tax incentives for companies using U.S. cotton in textile products. Industry supporters say the measure could encourage apparel brands to source more American cotton while giving textile mills a financial reason to expand U.S.-based supply chains.

Minnich calls the Buying American Cotton Act, often referred to as BACA, the industry’s top priority.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to build demand,” he says. “The Buying American Cotton Act can do that. It will do that.”

He says the legislation could become a “true game changer” if brands begin requiring U.S. cotton in sourcing decisions for large-scale apparel production.

“When they make their supply decision and say, ‘I want that million pair of cotton khaki pants, and you have to make it with U.S. cotton,’ I think that’s going to be a true game changer for our industry,” Minnich says.

The plan also increases payments through the Economic Adjustment Assistance for Textile Mills program from 3 cents to 5 cents per pound of cotton processed, a move aimed at improving profitability for domestic mills and processors.

At the same time, USDA says cotton processors and textile manufacturers will receive priority consideration through Rural Development’s Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program to help expand domestic production capacity.

Rebuilding Domestic Manufacturing

The announcement underscores growing concern over the decline of the U.S. textile industry.

According to USDA, the number of cotton gins in the United States has fallen from 2,254 in 1980 to just 446 today, while domestic textile manufacturing capacity has steadily shrunk over the last two decades.

The administration argues rebuilding more of the supply chain domestically could help stabilize demand for cotton producers while supporting rural jobs tied to processing, manufacturing and transportation. USDA estimates every $1 generated at the cotton farm gate creates roughly $15 in economic activity across related industries.

Minnich says the administration’s focus on domestic textile production also has national security implications.

“When you think about America 250 and everything our country’s been through, our men and women in uniform, we’ve got to have the ability to make their uniforms,” he says. “We don’t want to be relying on another country for that.”

Positioning Cotton Against Synthetic Fibers

Another major theme of the initiative is promoting cotton as a natural alternative to synthetic fibers.

USDA and HHS are expanding the administration’s “Plant Not Plastic” campaign, which encourages consumers to choose natural fibers over petroleum-based synthetic materials such as polyester.

The campaign originated with the National Cotton Council and has become a growing part of the industry’s messaging strategy.

Minnich says consumer awareness around synthetic fibers and microplastics remains low, despite growing research into microfiber pollution.

“A lot of people just don’t realize,” he says. “If it’s not natural fibers, if it’s not cotton, and it’s synthetic plastic, well, I’m basically feeding my kid plastic.”

The administration says the effort aligns with broader “Make America Healthy Again” priorities, citing concerns about microplastics and synthetic materials in consumer products.

Today, USDA estimates nearly 70% of the world’s textile fibers are synthetic.

Officials say promoting cotton’s biodegradability, breathability and moisture absorption could help drive additional consumer demand for natural fibers.

Minnich says the administration had already begun emphasizing microplastics and synthetic fibers before the formal cotton plan announcement, pointing to EPA and HHS efforts examining the impacts of synthetic materials.

“I do think it’s more of a concerted effort to make sure that we’re promoting natural fibers,” he says.

Trade and Export Expansion

The plan also includes efforts to strengthen export opportunities for U.S. cotton after the United States lost its position as the world’s top cotton exporter to Brazil in 2023.

USDA says recent trade commitments secured with Indonesia and Bangladesh are expected to support additional purchases of U.S. cotton and textile production using American fiber.

Cotton Council International also participated in a USDA Agribusiness Trade Mission to Indonesia earlier this year for the first time.

The administration says those efforts will complement existing export promotion programs, including the Market Access Program and COTTON USA licensing initiatives.

Support for Growers

Beyond demand-building efforts, USDA says the plan includes several provisions intended to improve grower profitability and risk protection.

Those include higher marketing loan rates for cotton, expanded insurance access through the Supplemental Coverage Option program and a 14% increase in the seed cotton reference price for ARC and PLC programs beginning in fall 2026.

Minnich says many of those policy improvements were included in last year’s Working Families Tax Cut Act, but producers are still waiting to see some of those changes fully implemented.

“As producers see that base update, as they see the marketing loan changes and the benefits to that, as the ARC and PLC payments come out in October, I think that’s when they really start to go, ‘All right, wow, this is making a difference to my operation,’” he says.

USDA estimates cotton producers could lose approximately $2.6 billion across 9 million planted acres during the upcoming crop year, highlighting the financial pressure facing the industry.

For growers, the broader hope behind the Great American Cotton Plan is that stronger domestic demand, expanded export opportunities and more integrated supply chains could eventually help restore profitability across the cotton sector.

Still, Minnich says the next major step will be congressional action on the Buying American Cotton Act.

The legislation currently has bipartisan support in Congress, with more co-sponsors continuing to sign on.

“We just got to add more,” Minnich says. “Whether you’re a cotton person or a person that cares about microplastics and the environment and what you and your children wear, call your member of Congress and encourage them to support it.”

Can the Plan Save the U.S. Cotton Industry?

After five consecutive years of negative returns, many in the cotton industry say the stakes are high.

Minnich says the long-term success of the Great American Cotton Plan will ultimately depend on whether Congress passes the Buying American Cotton Act and whether brands begin making sourcing decisions around verified U.S. cotton.

“If we can implement it, and part of that overall goal being getting BACA passed through Congress and signed into law by the president, and starting to see those brands and retailers whenever they make their supply decision say, ‘I want that million pair of cotton khaki pants, and you have to make it with U.S. cotton,’ I think that’s going to be a true game changer for our industry,” he says.