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Farm groups welcome tariff relief, but fertilizer price drops could lag, experts say

The head of The Fertilizer Institute says it could be a while before the recent removal of some fertilizer tariffs benefits farmers’ bottom line.

Corey Rosenbusch tells Brownfield President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on nitrogen and phosphorus have been disrupting imports since this spring.

“About 38 percent of our phosphate imports come from Saudi Arabia, and we had seen basically zero vessels from any country coming into the United States since April 1,” he explains.

But Rosenbusch says, there have been many global factors, including increased demand pressure and a growing number of conflicts across the Middle East, that have been straining supplies and driving prices higher.

“I think we’re really going to be watching to see how does supply shift then going into spring, and what does spring look like as some of these tariffs start to come down?” he says.

Potash imports from Canada have remained tariff-free throughout negotiations.

Farmers for Free Trade and the American Soybean Association say they are grateful for the tariff relief, and the actions will help lower costs for one key component in crop production.