A bipartisan group of 83 US Senators and Congress Members recently sent a letter to the U.S. International Trade Commission, requesting a solution for the strain that the fertilizer supply chain is currently witnessing in the US.
The letter insisted that the ITC eliminate the current countervailing duty of 19.97% on all phosphate fertilizer products imported from Morocco, in addition to suspending the ongoing process of imposing new duties on nitrogen fertilizers from Trinidad and Tobago, according to a press release by the Senators.
The decision to impose duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer imports was rendered effective by the ITC in March 2021.
The OCP Group, Morocco’s leading fertilizer producer and a global supermajor-producer of phosphate-based products, argued at the time that there was no basis to impose such duties against which many voices inside the American agriculture industry voiced their opposition, from distributors to cooperatives and elected officials.
Initially, this new imposition aimed to stabilize prices in U.S. markets, but it had the opposite effect, leading to a sharp increase in fertilizer cost and product prices. Representative Tracey Mann from Kansas points out that the production is now decided based on the cost of fertilizer rather than market demands.
As the war is ongoing in Ukraine, the prices of products are bound to continue rising. The elimination of the 19.75 duty on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer imports would be an effective countermeasure to help stabilize them.
It would also prove to be a significant opportunity for Morocco, as the OCP Group could capitalize on it to increase exports to the U.S. and better manage its supply chain, a challenge the group has expressed its willingness to overcome in their March 2021 statement in response to the ITC’s decision.
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