{
  "node_id": "us-cotton-standards-act",
  "title": "US Cotton Standards Act (7 USC ch 2): Official Cotton Standards and Classification",
  "domain": "Agriculture & Agritech",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "last_updated": "2026-05-27",
  "bluf": "The United States Cotton Standards Act (7 U.S.C. ch. 2, sections 51 to 65) establishes official standards for the classification of cotton and is administered by the Secretary of Agriculture through the Agricultural Marketing Service. Section 51 names the chapter the United States Cotton Standards Act, and section 52 prohibits, in transactions in commerce, the use of any cotton grade or quality designation other than the official cotton standards of the United States. Section 53 authorizes the Secretary to license qualified persons to classify cotton and to sample and certify cotton, and to suspend or revoke a license for incompetency or violation. Section 54 provides for classification of cotton by the Department of Agriculture on submission of samples, and provides that a certificate of classification is binding and is prima facie evidence in the courts of the United States. Section 56 authorizes the Secretary to establish and amend the official cotton standards, with a standard taking effect not less than one year after the order establishing it. Section 59 defines offenses relating to the counterfeiting, alteration, or unauthorized use of the standards, and section 60 makes a violation punishable by a fine not exceeding 1,000 dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both. The Act is the federal standardization regime for the cotton trade.",
  "paywall": {
    "status": "LOCKED",
    "unlock_cost_usd": "0.01",
    "skyfire_id": "41779894-ece2-4163-9761-b3b1b76e19b0"
  },
  "crosswalks": {
    "_available_keys": [
      "industry_mapping",
      "related_frameworks"
    ],
    "_note": "Full crosswalk values included in vault response"
  },
  "primary_citations_count": 8
}