The Trump administration wants to make American cotton great again.
The Great American Cotton Plan, announced Thursday by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, marks the federal government’s most aggressive effort yet to prop up domestically grown cotton. It arrives as U.S. producers brace for a fifth straight year of losses and the country has already ceded its position as the world’s leading cotton exporter.
“Since 1607, cotton has helped build and sustain rural America. Our farmers grow some of the highest-quality cotton in the world, but over the last several years America’s cotton growers have been crushed by rising costs, unfair foreign competition and a flood of cheap synthetic products,” Rollins said in a statement. “In 2023, we lost our status as the world’s top cotton exporter to Brazil. This change starts today.”
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Rollins said the plan aims to restore profitability to cotton farming by expanding domestic textile manufacturing and boosting demand for products made with American-grown cotton. But its success depends on reversing decades of structural decay in a supply chain that has lost more than 80 percent of its cotton gins since 1980.
There are also larger macro forces at play. The global fiber market has swung toward petrochemical-based materials, with polyester alone accounting for 59 percent of total fiber output in 2024, according to Textile Exchange. Meanwhile, U.S.-China trade tensions have caused shipments to China to collapse by 90 percent in 2025.
“Given the ongoing concerns about the bilateral trade relations, we might see the U.S.-China cotton apparel supply chain continue to decouple in the years ahead,” Sheng Lu, professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, previously told Sourcing Journal.
As part of the plan, the USDA will amplify the National Cotton Council’s “Plant Not Plastic” public awareness campaign, encouraging consumers to choose natural fibers to reduce microplastic pollution.
“Supporting natural fibers like cotton also aligns with the Make America Healthy Again agenda as Americans grow increasingly concerned about microplastics and synthetic materials in everyday products,” Rollins said. “Cotton is natural, breathable, biodegradable and proudly grown by American farmers—not manufactured from petroleum-based plastics that can shed microplastics into our soil, water and bodies.”
It’s a framing that is compelling, if oversimplified, overlooking scientific evidence that all textiles—natural and synthetic—shed fibers, and that chemical treatments and finishes often play a larger role in health and environmental impacts than fiber type alone.
Still, the department believes its strategy will work. To expand domestic production capacity, the USDA will prioritize cotton processors and manufacturers in the Rural Development’s Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, work with Congress to support the Buying American Cotton Act, and collaborate with the U.S. Trade Representative to expand export opportunities for U.S. cotton—including securing commitments for future purchases from countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh.
The USDA will also continue funding its BioPreferred Program to boost the use of biobased products. Elsewhere, Agricultural Research Service scientists are targeting the cotton jassid pest, producers have gained expanded access to Supplemental Coverage Option insurance, and seed cotton reference prices are rising 14 percent this fall.
Nowhere does the plan mention climate change—one of President Trump’s forbidden phrases—despite the fact that extended dry spells, erratic rainfall and extreme heat, driven by a warming planet, have become an existential threat to farmers.
Last year, at the height of the Department of Government Efficiency crackdown, the USDA canceled the Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, citing high administrative costs and policy realignment. This left small farms, nonprofits, and rural communities without millions in funding for adopting regenerative practices that could have built resilience against assorted climate-related shocks. Whipsawing tariffs on U.S. imports around the time also drove up the cost of equipment, fertilizer and other agricultural inputs.
For Rollins, however, the Great American Cotton Plan appears to signal a clear break from the past.
“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 added.
