Ag News

Bill would remove certain tariffs on moroccan phosphates

A bill that would remove countervailing duties from phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco was introduced in the U.S. Senate on April 28 and the U.S. House on April 29.

The Lowering Input Costs for American Farmers Act (S. 4419, HR 8583) was introduced in the Senate by Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) and in the House by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa).

 Phosphate fertilizer is an essential input for modern crop production, used predominantly for growing corn, soybeans, cotton, and other agricultural commodities. In the last five years, corn farmers have paid record and near-record highs to purchase phosphate following government action that cut off imported supplies.  

“Corn farmers have been consistently vocal about the negative impact of duties on imported fertilizers,” said Ohio farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower in a statement. “We applaud these members of Congress – long-time farmer allies – for taking action to address one of the issues that is causing a hike in fertilizer costs.”

In 2020, the Commerce Department, acting on a petition filed by phosphate and potash mining and processing company Mosaic, imposed duties on phosphate fertilizers imported from Morocco and Russia. Mosaic claimed at the time that unfairly subsidized foreign companies were flooding the U.S. market with fertilizers and selling the products at extremely low prices. The petition was supported by J.R. Simplot. 

Corn growers have been critical of the process used to determine the duties, which led to inaccurate calculations. Further, the outsized impact of restricting phosphate imports has negatively affected farmers across the United States. This year, the duties are being examined under a sunset review process that will determine if the duties should continue.

The duties have had major effects on the phosphate fertilizer market. At least one Moroccan company halted shipments of phosphate fertilizers into the U.S., which led to price hikes and shortages, saddling farmers with a hardship that has only worsened with conflict in the Middle East.

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