Business / Agriculture / Step 2 Payments: One of the three cotton competitiveness provisions intended to keep U.S. cotton competitive in domestic and export markets. Under the Step 2 provision, USDA is required to issue marketing certificates (or cash payments in lieu of certificates) to domestic users of upland cotton for documented purchases, and to exporters of upland cotton for documented sales, when certain U.S. cotton pricing benchmarks are exceeded. The payments provide a subsidy to U.S. cotton users and exporters so that U.S. rather than foreign cotton will be utilized, even when the former is higher-priced. Market developments triggered the availability of payments from late August 1991 through early December 1994, and again from mid July 1997 until mid December 1998, when funds ran out. The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act of 1996 capped Step 2 payments during the FY1996-2002 period at $701 million.
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Step Verb Synonyms: movement, move
Step Noun Synonyms: footfall, footstep, tread
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Entertainment / Basketball / Rocker Step: An offensive move consisting of a jab step followed by a step backward; the player can either shoot or drive, depending on the movement of the defender. MORE
Business / Finance / Ross, Stephen: Developer of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory. Finance professor at MIT. MORE
Business / Accounting / Rule Of 72: A quick way to calculate how long it will take to double a sum of money. Divide 72 by the expected interest rate to determine the number of years (example 72 divided by 8% = 9 years). MORE