The U.S. Department of Commerce has decided to review the tariffs imposed on Moroccan fertilizers, reducing them from 16.81% to 16.60%, after previously being set at 14.21%.
This revision follows an appeal filed by the OCP Group against the department’s decision to increase tariffs on the company’s products.
The U.S. company Mosaic had requested higher tariffs on OCP, alleging that the company benefited from government subsidies, which, according to them, created an unfair competitive advantage.
The U.S. Department of Commerce investigation had found the OCP allegedly benefited from various subsidies, including discounted natural gas purchases, mining rights, tax breaks, regional development programs, and low-interest government loans.
Mosaic claimed that these subsidies gave OCP and Russia’s PhosAgro an unfair competitive advantage in the U.S. market, harming domestic fertilizer producers.
The U.S. Department of Commerce responded by imposing a 23.46% duty, which was later reduced to 19.97% and then to 2.12% late last year due to flaws in the initial analysis.
However, the duties were recently raised again to 14.21% following a review, and then to 16.81% before the last decison that set the rate at 16.60%.
Earlier, OCP had expressed its regret over the decision to increase the tariffs, arguing that it contradicted existing laws and regulations.
Previously, OCP says that despite the agency’s decision, it remains committed to full cooperation with U.S. agencies in any future analyses.
“We will continue our full and transparent cooperation with U.S. agencies as they conduct any future analyses,” says the company.
OCP added that “U.S. farmers need additional reliable, high-quality providers of sustainable phosphate fertilizers to ensure the supply chain resiliency that enables them to feed their fellow citizens and the wider world.”
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