US Farmers Express Dissatisfaction Following a Decision to Impose Duties on Moroccan Phosphate

On Thursday, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) made a decision to impose duties on imports of Moroccan phosphates in the range of 19.97%, after pleadings made by Morocco to avoid this matter.

The imposition of these fees is due to a complaint filed by the American company “Mosaic” last year, in which it demanded American authorities to apply a fee of 70%, but to no avail.

In spite of reducing the fee rate, the decision remains incomprehensible to Morocco, as the OCP group presented all arguments regarding the lack of any basis for imposing these fees.

Details related to the decision of the USITC against imports of phosphate fertilizers are scheduled to be published in the next few weeks, which will allow determining reasons behind this decision and the basis on which it was taken.

For its part, the OCP Group confirmed that it will continue serving American customers as soon as it figures the best way to do so.

The “Mosaic” company has received criticism from a number of actors in the agricultural sector in the United States, including distributors and cooperatives, in addition to members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

A few days ago, members of Congress sent a letter to Jason E. Kearns, Chair of the USITC, demanding the rejection of the request to impose duties on imports of Moroccan phosphate due to its impact on farmers.

The letter stated that American farmers rely heavily on phosphate fertilizers to produce a number of crops, including soybeans, corn, sugar, fruits and vegetables, warning that imposing duties on phosphate imports would result in an increase in prices, and thus increase the cost of production for farmers and result in negative effects on the agricultural sector.