Republicans Ask Biden for Duty Moratorium in Fertilizer AD/CVD Cases
The high price of fertilizers is a bigger emergency than the cost of solar panels, argued Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and six other Republican senators and U.S. Representative Tracey Mann, R-Kan., and 23 other Republican House members in a letter asking President Joe Biden to intervene in antidumping and countervailing duty cases on phosphate fertilizer from Morocco and a preliminary decision on a trade remedy case on urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer from Trinidad and Tobago.
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The letter, sent July 14, says Biden should waive duties on Moroccan fertilizer and place a moratorium on duties on urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
"Our country’s farmers and agricultural producers are making decisions on what to plant today based on fertilizer prices rather than typical market fundamentals. Coupled with inflation at the highest it has been in 41 years and a Consumer Price Index for food up 14.6%, the rising cost of fertilizer will increase food insecurity and geopolitical tension domestically and abroad," they wrote. "Currently, a supermajority of the global tradable supply of phosphate fertilizers is subject to U.S. duties. While the United States is a major producer of nitrogen and phosphate, farmers still significantly rely on imports to fully meet demand. For instance, prior to your Department of Commerce’s preliminary decision to restrict UAN imports from Trinidad and Tobago, nearly 65% of imported UAN originated in Trinidad and Tobago."