Marrakech – Two weeks after US President Donald Trump suspended duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer, OCP Group is finalizing logistics to resume shipments to the United States.
Ships could be headed to New Orleans “as early as the end of this week or next week,” the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden told DTN in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
OCP North America’s CEO met with USDA officials this week to work through the remaining steps needed to begin deliveries. The last hurdle involves paperwork with US Customs and Border Protection to determine “how exactly to classify this under the president’s order,” Vaden noted.
The duty-free shipments follow Trump’s June 29 proclamation suspending certain antidumping and countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer for eight months.
The administration invoked Section 318 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a Depression-era provision that authorizes duty-free importation of supplies during a declared emergency. The proclamation declared an emergency over threats to the availability of sufficient fertilizer supplies to meet US agricultural demand.
Phosphate fertilizer prices have not yet moved. MAP averaged $954 per ton, down $1 from a month earlier, while DAP averaged $912 per ton, up $3 from the previous month, according to DTN fertilizer data. “Those price effects should begin to filter through when the ships hit New Orleans,” Vaden indicated.
USDA estimates the suspension could reduce phosphate fertilizer costs by as much as 22%, generating an estimated $1.82 billion in annual savings while benefiting roughly 100,000 farmers across 97 million planted acres.
The suspension is time-bound, not volume-bound, meaning OCP can ship unlimited volumes during the eight-month window. “That means that if retailers want to place large orders with OCP … they absolutely can do that,” Vaden told DTN.
He described locking in lower-priced supplies that would last beyond February as “a smart business decision,” adding that “for the fall fertilizer season, and for those smart retailers that want to go ahead and start stockpiling for next year, they can do so.”
Headquartered in Casablanca, OCP Group is the world’s largest producer of phosphate rock and phosphate-based fertilizers. Morocco holds upward of 70% of the planet’s known phosphate reserves, and OCP commands roughly 31% of the world phosphate market. Unlike nitrogen, phosphorus must be mined, and no synthetic substitute exists.
The proclamation’s backdrop is a convergence of supply-chain pressures. The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz since late February disrupted global flows of sulfur and ammonia, both essential inputs for fertilizer production.
China and Russia, which together control close to 40% of the global export market for processed phosphate, have shown willingness to restrict shipments for domestic priorities.
US phosphate output has contracted by more than half since 1995, leaving domestic capacity insufficient to meet agricultural demand.
The duty suspension dismantles a tariff architecture erected over five years. In 2021, Washington imposed a 19.97% countervailing duty on OCP after Florida-based Mosaic Company argued that subsidized Moroccan imports materially injured the US phosphate industry.
The rate fluctuated through successive reviews before Judge Timothy C. Stanceu of the Court of International Trade (USCIT) cut the levy to 2.11% in December 2025. By March 2026, the government abandoned its appeal.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into the fertilizer industry, issuing subpoenas for industry information.
This week, the Iowa Corn Growers Association and 16 other state corn organizations urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to press the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite its own probe into alleged collusive practices. “Announcements and reports of investigations are welcome news, but it will take decisive action to restore free and fair markets,” the organizations wrote.
Vaden pointed to recent DOJ settlements, including one with John Deere and actions involving companies accused of egg-price collusion, as signals that fertilizer enforcement could follow. “If I’m in one of these other industries and there’s other chicanery afoot, I would not sleep soundly at night,” he warned.
USDA is asking farmers to submit evidence of potential anticompetitive conduct. “You can remain confidential,” Vaden assured, adding that a formal portal is expected soon.
Read also: Why Washington Blinked on Moroccan Phosphate, and Why It Had No Choice
