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Mosaic maintains support for phosphate countervailing duties

The vice president of public affairs with The Mosaic Company says current countervailing duties on Moroccan and Russian fertilizers are critical to U.S. phosphate production.

Ben Pratt tells Brownfield, “We strongly believe that those duties are still necessary and the duties have not imposed a tax on U.S. farmers.”  He says, “The simple way to demonstrate that, phosphate fertilizer prices are actually lower in the U.S. now than they are in every other major agricultural market in the world.”

The nearly 20% duties are currently under a sunset review by the U.S. International Trade Commission.  Pratt says without them, U.S. producers are at a competitive disadvantage.

“Producers in Morocco and Russia receive extensive, unfair subsidies from their government.”  He says, “And before the countervailing duties were imposed, we were unable to compete because our costs were structurally significantly higher than theirs.”

Pratt says recent global disruptions reiterate the need for a stable domestic phosphate fertilizer supply. 

A Texas A&M University study found the duties have cost farmers an additional $6.9 billion since being enacted in 2021.  Mosaic and Simplot are in favor of extending the levy while Nutrien is not. 

The American Soybean Association along with more than 60 other ag groups, and some lawmakers continue to call for removal of the duties as phosphate fertilizer prices continue to climb.

AUDIO: Ben Pratt – The Mosaic Company