The US International Trade Commission will conduct a full five-year review of countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco and Russia, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.
The commission said responses submitted by US producers and by parties representing Moroccan and Russian exporters were sufficient to justify full reviews rather than faster proceedings based mainly on existing information.
The commission will examine whether revoking the duties would be likely to cause the continuation or recurrence of material injury to the US phosphate fertilizer industry.
The measures have been in place since April 2021 following trade proceedings initiated after petitions supported by US fertilizer producers Mosaic and J.R. Simplot.
American farming groups have intensified pressure for their removal, arguing that the duties restrict supply options and increase costs at a time when growers face weak crop prices and expensive agricultural inputs.
Jed Bower, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said corn farmers would participate fully in the review and argue that continuing the duties would harm growers and the wider US economy.
The association said high fertilizer prices were contributing to an outlook in which many corn farmers could record losses for a fourth consecutive year, while continuing market volatility was already complicating planning for the 2027 growing season.
Earlier this month, 65 national and state agricultural organizations urged US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to revoke the duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer.
The American Farm Bureau Federation also asked President Donald Trump in March to use presidential powers to suspend countervailing duties temporarily as Middle East disruptions threatened fertilizer supply chains.
The review comes after the Trump administration said it had held discussions with Morocco about fertilizer supplies as an “insurance policy” against further disruption to US farmers.
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