U.S. Ag Groups Urge Lower Duties on Moroccan Fertilizer Imports
Almost 60 U.S. agricultural and commodity groups are urging the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to either eliminate or further reduce import duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco. DOC had previously lowered countervailing duties (CVD) on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer to 2.12% after an administrative review, down from the previous rate of 19.97%. However, the reduction had limited impact since Morocco had largely halted shipments of the product to the United States. The groups argue the ongoing imposition of duties is due to the International Trade Commission’s (ITC) affirmative finding of injury. The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) identified errors in ITC’s injury determination and sent the decisions back for review. DOC is expected to address CIT concerns regarding duty calculations, while ITC is set to respond in January. These duties were imposed following a trade case initiated by U.S. producer Mosaic, who Mosaic retains the option to appeal the pending decisions by DOC and ITC.
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