US Mosaic Lobbying Causes New Round of Tariffs on Moroccan Fertilizers

The US Commerce Department (USCD) has yet again announced an import duties hike on Moroccan fertilizers after US fertilizer giant Mosaic petitioned the agency for action claiming that their Moroccan counterpart, OCP Group, enjoys an unfair competition advantage.

Rabat – The US Commerce Department (USCD) has yet again announced an import duties hike on Moroccan fertilizers after US fertilizer giant Mosaic petitioned the agency for action claiming that their Moroccan counterpart, OCP Group, enjoys an unfair competition advantage.

According to US media reports, USCD recently announced hiking import duties on Moroccan fertilizers from 2.12% to 14.21%, while lowering duties on Russian phosphate fertilizers to 18.83% from 28.5%.

The new rate will enter into effect starting in November and will apply retroactively to fertilizer imports from Morocco in 2022.

The USCD announcement comes as farmer groups and politicians have repeatedly called on the US government to expand imports and reduce tariffs to counter the adverse effect of global supply disruptions since 2021.

The lingering COVID-induced trade bottleneck and geopolitical tensions have sent fertilizer prices soaring, raising the production cost for farmers.

Despite the relative ease in fertilizer prices over the past year, US farmers remain concerned that higher tariffs will negatively affect their profits amid unfavorable market conditions, reports Agriculture Dive.

“The price of corn has dropped, and input costs are already high, so the Commerce Department’s decision is the last thing farmers need,” National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle said in a statement reported by the same source.

This is not the first time Mosaic has lobbied against OCP Group in disregard to the livelihood of US farmers. In 2021, the US company’s lobbying resulted in an import duties hike on Moroccan fertilizers that reached a sweeping 19.97%.

The increase in import duties on Moroccan fertilizers led to price spikes in the US, giving Mosaic a virtual monopoly over the American fertilizer market. This prompted farmers’ unions to resist what they call “the stranglehold Mosaic has imposed on its customers.”

Following widespread backlash from farmer groups, bipartisan resolutions from politicians, and an appeal from OCP, the decision was reversed in November 2023, with tariffs dropping to 2.12%.