President Donald Trump suspended duties on Moroccan phosphate Monday night through an executive order, prompting cheers from farm groups.
The order, which lasts for at least eight months, directs the Treasury and Commerce departments to use their authority under the Tariff Act of 1930 to suspend the nearly 20% countervailing duties, which had been requested by U.S. phosphate manufacturers Mosaic and Simplot. The Commerce Department recently announced a review of the duties.
“This action provides much-needed relief to soybean farmers and other agricultural producers who continue to face tight margins and high input costs,” a statement from the American Soybean Association said.
National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower called the announcement “welcome news for corn farmers.”
“Fertilizer represents one of the biggest expenses for farms every year, only made worse in recent years by actions of companies looking to further consolidate their control of the market,” Bower continued. “Input prices generally have been incredibly high and are a major contributing factor to the profitability picture, or lack thereof, for corn farmers right now."
Facing spiraling fertilizer prices due to the war with Iran, dozens of farm groups called for an end to the duties June 1, releasing an analysis that concluded the countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate “raised input costs for farmers of corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum and cotton by roughly $6.9 billion over the 2021 through 2025 growing seasons. At its full initial rate of 19.97%, the duty drove up the U.S. price of diammonium phosphate by an estimated 28.6%.”
"To ensure a stable food supply, predictable and timely sources of phosphate fertilizer must be procured to meet United States demand, which requires adequate supply of phosphate fertilizer, a critical type of plant food," the order says.
This story will be updated.
