Rabat – American Congressman Randy Feenstra is advocating for cutting tariffs on Moroccan fertilizer exports to the US, arguing that this would help bring down costs for American farmers.
Speaking to the Brownfield Ag News, the Republican representative pointed to rising farming input costs as the source for the hardships facing local farming communities. He said that the price of one crucial input, fertilizers, could be lowered easily by removing or cutting tariffs on Morocco’s fertilizer exports.
“There’s got to be some easing on that,” Feenstra highlighted, speaking of recently imposed restrictions on Moroccan fertilizer exports to the US market.
The Congressman’s concerns mirror that of several US lawmakers, think tanks, and farming representatives, who have all recently called on the current administration to bring relief to farming communities by implementing a temporary waiver, or cutting tariffs on Moroccan fertilizer imports altogether.
Struggling farmers
Feenstra has been raising the alarm about rising fertilizer prices for a long time. Representing a key agricultural state, Feenstra in November 2021 pointed to rising fertilizer prices as a key concern. Speaking to a hearing of the US House Agriculture Committee, he said: “Some of our farmers, who have been able to guarantee fertilizer availability for next planting season, have reported being quoted prices up to six times as high as 2021 prices.”
That trend has only worsened, as the Russia-Ukraine war has heavily impacted Europe’s gas, ammonia, nitrogen and fertilizer production, raising prices around the globe. “What’s happening in Europe with fertilizer and natural gas prices, those natural gas prices are incredibly high, there’s a lot of concern of where the fertilizer costs are going to go,” Feenstra told the Brownfield Ag News on Friday.
Artificial tariffs
Like many other US lawmakers, Feenstra has repeatedly pointed to the artificial tariffs imposed on Morocco’s fertilizer exports by a controversial 2021 US International Trade Commission (USITC) decision that has hurt US farmers ever since. The USITC decision, which came after an intense lobbying campaign from US fertilizer giant Mosaic, has directly led to rising costs for local farmers, Feenstra has highlighted.
Speaking to the USITC on June 16, he said that “the economic forces on the ground have changed dramatically since the duties on phosphate fertilizer products imported from Morocco have been instituted.”
Fertilizer production
Feenstra’s statements mirror that of many US farmers. Ever since Mosaic ensured its artificial monopoly, the company has actually cut production despite hardships facing US farmers. Mosaic’s July reporting revealed that despite calls from farmers and government to boost US fertilizer production, the company cut its sales by almost 25% compared to the same month last year.
Meanwhile in Morocco, OCP Group has boosted its production despite high input costs relating to the global context. Home to the vast majority of the world’s phosphate reserves, Morocco has headed the call of farmers worldwide and boosted sales by 84.5% compared to the same period last year. With Moroccan fertilizers readily available, only the USITC and Mosaic appear to stand in the way of short-term relief for US farmers.
