A coalition of 65 state and national agricultural urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick earlier this week to eliminate countervailing duties on imported Moroccan phosphate fertilizers, warning that soaring costs are pushing family farms to the brink of collapse.
The joint letter arrives less than a week after Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced a sweeping, industry-wide investigation into the fertilizer sector’s pricing practices and market concentration.
Among the industry participants in the letter are the National Corn Growers Association American Soybean Association National Cotton Council National Sorghum Producers, U.S. Rice Producers Association and USA Rice.
Economic Downturn Continues To Build
American farmers are grappling with a deepening economic downturn, characterized by a roughly 31% drop in net farm income since its 2022 peak and a 150% spike in fertilizer prices since 2020. The financial strain has driven Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies to their highest levels in several years.
“These costs land on an already fragile farm economy,” the coalition wrote, noting that farmers are facing their fourth consecutive year of losses. The groups argued that the tariffs could mean the difference between sustaining family legacies or seeing them end.
The countervailing duties, initially requested by U.S.-based producers The Mosaic Company and Simplot, have been in place since March 2021. However, the agricultural groups contend the tariffs have failed to achieve their intended purpose.
“They do not protect a vulnerable domestic industry from unfair competition,” the letter stated. “Rather, they further prop up two companies who already dominate the domestic market and will continue to dominate that market absent [countervailing duty] protection.”
Independent Analysis Details Companies’ Self-Interests
According to an independent analysis by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University, the duties on Moroccan phosphate inflated input costs for corn, soybean, wheat, rice, sorghum, and cotton farmers by an estimated $6.9 billion between the 2021 and 2025 growing seasons. At its peak initial rate of 19.97%, the tariff drove up the U.S. price of diammonium phosphate by an estimated 28.6%.
The coalition also leveled sharp criticism at Mosaic, accusing the company of tightening domestic supply to its own advantage.
“Far from safeguarding domestic supply, Mosaic continues to curtail its own production, even as supply tightened at home,” the letter said. The groups warned that the current policy risks national food security by tying the majority of the U.S. phosphate supply to a single domestic producer, leaving the supply chain highly vulnerable to disruptions.
In response to the ongoing crisis, the National Corn Growers Association has launched an internal input task force dedicated to analyzing the root causes of supply price hikes and identifying potential policy remedies.
Read the letter here.
