OCP Group has begun shipping 54,000 tons of phosphate fertilizer to the United States after Washington opened an eight-month duty-free window, DTN reported in an article updated on July 19, citing the Moroccan producer and U.S. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden.
The first vessel is en route, and the cargo is expected to enter through New Orleans. OCP’s North American chief met U.S. Agriculture Department officials to complete customs and classification procedures after the Commerce Department began accepting applications for duty-free entry on July 8.
The shipment will test whether additional Moroccan supply can reduce costs before the U.S. fall fertilizer-buying season. Retail prices have yet to respond because the cargo has not reached distributors. DTN put monoammonium phosphate, or MAP, at an average $954 per ton, down $1 from a month earlier, while diammonium phosphate, or DAP, averaged $912, up $3.
President Donald Trump declared an emergency on June 29 and authorised phosphate fertilizer from Morocco to enter without countervailing duties for eight months or until the emergency ends.
The waiver is time-limited rather than volume-limited, but exporters or importers must seek Commerce Department approval for each shipment, which must normally enter within 60 days of authorisation.
The Agriculture Department estimates the measure could cut phosphate fertilizer costs by as much as 22%, generating $1.82 billion in annual savings for about 100,000 farmers cultivating 97 million acres. Those projections are administration estimates and have not yet appeared in market prices.
OCP had faced U.S. countervailing duties since April 2021 after domestic producer Mosaic argued that subsidised imports from Morocco and Russia injured the U.S. phosphate industry. The original OCP rate was 19.97%, while the most recent published cash-deposit rate before the waiver was 16.60%.
The White House linked the suspension to fertilizer supply disruptions caused by the Iran conflict and shipping risks around the Strait of Hormuz. It said U.S. production was insufficient to meet domestic agricultural demand after exports, while expanding local manufacturing would take time.
The waiver is scheduled to expire in February 2027, but it does not cancel the underlying trade order, leaving OCP’s longer-term access dependent on whether Washington extends the relief or restores the duties.
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