The Commerce Department says Russia’s Joint Stock Company Apatit, a subsidiary of PhosAgro, will face slightly reduced countervailing duties on its phosphate fertilizer.
As part of an annual review, Commerce has determined that government subsidies warrant a new subsidy rate of 12.71%, a slight decrease from last year’s 18.21% for the company.
JSC Apatit has some 80% of the market share in Russia, according to the International Fertilizer Industry Association, and is one of the country’s main exporters.
Take note: Agriculture groups have been pushing to lift the countervailing duties on both Russian and Moroccan phosphate to ease price pressures.
Although Commerce has determined JSC Apatit is still receiving subsidies, the findings do not affect the outcome of a five-year review currently underway. That review is looking into whether domestic industry will be harmed by lifting the tariffs.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Kip Tom said earlier this week that the U.S. should examine lifting the duties.
Greer to head to Mexico to talk USMCA
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will be in Mexico next week for talks on a North American free trade agreement ahead of a review later this year, he said during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing Thursday.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have mounted a messaging offensive on the deal’s benefits to food and agriculture industries.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of more than 40 senators, including Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., and ranking member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., wrote to Greer to tout the deal’s ag benefits.
More than 100 House lawmakers inked a similar letter in November.
Rollins describes ‘duct tape and bubble gum’ farm aid process
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a hearing Thursday that there simply wasn’t room for hops and mint in the $1 billion aid package for specialty crops.
Responding to a question from Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Rollins said she loves hops and mint “as much as anyone,” the priority needed to be “real” food like berries, broccoli and apples. Washington boasts a wide range of specialty crops,
USDA has already provided a $12 billion aid package, including $11 billion for row crops producers.
“We kind of duct-taped and bubble-gummed that $12 billion together,” Rollins told the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.
Take note: House Ag Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson told Agri-Pulse on Wednesday that he wants an additional $20 billion in aid for farmers this year, with half of that going to specialty crop producers.
Pork producers: Mexican trade investigation a ‘political move’
Mexico’s investigation into U.S. pork leg and shoulder joints is likely politically motivated, the National Pork Producers Council’s Maria Zieba tells Agri-Pulse.
In December, Mexico mounted an investigation into whether U.S. pork products are entering the market below market rate. It followed up in January with a probe into U.S. apples.
“We feel pretty confident that this is largely a political move,” Zieba said. As countries prepare for an upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, governments are looking for leverage wherever they can.
The probe makes little sense given Mexico’s reliance on high-quality, affordable pork imports, Zieba said. “Especially when they're also dealing with high food prices.”
America First Trade Promotion Funds to go to 55 groups
USDA has announced the 55 groups that will receive a cut of $285 million from the America First Trade Promotion program.
The program was the result of Congress allocating additional funding for the 2027 fiscal year under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The American Soybean Association, Cotton Council International, U.S. Grains and BioProducts Council and U.S. Meat Export Federation will get the four largest awards, between $12.5 and $14 million each.
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“USMEF looks forward to continued collaboration with FAS to ensure successful implementation of the AFTPP, which is an excellent addition to USDA’s lineup of foreign market development programs,” USMEF President Dan Halstrom said in a statement.
Read more about Rollins’ appearance before the subcommittee at Agri-Pulse.com
PHOTO - House Ag Committee Vice Ranking Member Shontel Brown of Ohio speaks at the 2026 Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit in March. (Agri-Pulse photo)
No. 2 House Ag Dem: SNAP cuts are Democrats' farm bill sticking point
House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., remains optimistic that the farm bill can garner enough support from Democrats when it reaches the House floor, but the panel’s second-highest Democrat says her party remains frustrated over "disastrous" SNAP cuts.
Revisiting new state SNAP cost-share requirements from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would have been a “starting point” to securing broad Democratic support, according to House Ag Committee Vice Ranking Member Shontel Brown. Without that, “it's going to be difficult to get a lot of support from the Democrats,” she added.
Brown says she’s open to succeeding Rep. Angie Craig as the panel’s top Democrat next Congress and will be focused on “reimagining some things” to bring the farm bill coalition together. Specifically, she’d like to “bring all 12 titles back to the table so that we can figure out how to give a little so that everyone wins.”
“I don't think it's fair that we take from one title to pay for another,” she added.
Brown appears on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers today. Go here to watch.
FDA authorizes four NWS drugs for emergency use
Four drugs used to treat animals for New World screwworm have been issued emergency use authorizations by the Food and Drug Administration, the agency says in a Federal Register notice today.
Three authorizations cover drugs produced by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA for treating NWS larvae infections in cattle, while another covers a treatment from Health and Hygiene Ltd. that can be used on several types of hoof stock and birds.
Producers ask lawmakers to fund staff at NRCS, FSA
A group of 523 farmers on Thursday asked lawmakers to ensure USDA offices are “fully staffed, funded, and equipped to serve farmers and ranchers.”
In a letter led by the conservation group Invest in Our Land, producers raised concerns about staffing losses in Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency offices last year. They cited a report from USDA’s Office of the Inspector General that found 24% employee attrition at the Farm Service Agency and 22% attrition at NRCS between Jan. 12 and June 14 of last year.
"We all are used to doing more with less, but for farmers and ranchers, staffing losses mean longer wait times, delayed payments, reduced technical assistance, and fewer staff available to help navigate increasingly complex programs and situations that could be the difference for a family farm staying in business or closing its doors,” the letter said.
Take note: In a separate letter earlier this week, the National Association of Conservation Districts, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and 200 other national and local conservation organizations asked appropriations leaders to provide at least $1.05 billion for NRCS, which funds much of the agency’s workforce, conservation planning, and technical assistance. The Trump Administration has proposed a $738.5 million cut in the account for FY2027, or around 87% from 2026.
Final word
“It's incumbent on the other side of the aisle to get their acts together.” – House Ag Committee Vice Ranking Member Shontel Brown of Ohio speaking about year-round E15 on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
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