Moroccan Imports Return as Fertilizer Markets Stay Tight

A source of fertilizer may soon return to the American marketplace. As farmers struggle with input prices, they may get access once again to products from Morocco. 

This week President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending countervailing duties on foreign phosphate producers.

“Currently, United States production of phosphate fertilizer is insufficient to support domestic agricultural food production after accounting for exports,” he said in the order.

President Trump executive order on Moroccan fertilizer

His order continued, “Immediate action is necessary and appropriate to ensure in the interim that United States farmers have access to a sufficient and timely supply of phosphate fertilizers during the planting and growing season.”

 The Biden administration imposed the duties in 2021 after allegations Morocco and Russia unfairly subsidized phosphate fertilizer. The duties were intended to even the playing field so U.S. companies could compete. 

Grassley supports new action on Moroccan fertilizer

 U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R – IA) strongly disagreed with that intention, pointing to the largest U.S. producer. He said, “Mosaic has 80% of the phosphate market. They don't need protection.”

 Farm groups worried when the Moroccan tariff was put in place that it would increase the price of fertilizer. It was a warranted concern, according to a Texas A&M University study, which showed from the 2021 through 2025 growing season, the tariff increased phosphate prices by over 28% costing U.S. producers $6.9 billion.

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Producers Needed Price Relief

Farm groups praised the announcement after President Trump’s order. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement, “The decision to suspend tariffs on critical supplies, along with the recent request for emergency economic aid for farmers, are common-sense steps that will bring relief to farmers at a time when they need it most.”

Duvall said fertilizer prices added to farmers’ financial pressure as they also face compounding problems like inflation, depressed commodity markets, and high interest rates.

He added input prices, as a whole, were untenable for producers trying to maximize yields, “In fact, 7 out of 10 farmers said, in a Farm Bureau survey this spring, that they would not be able to afford enough fertilizer for this year,” Duvall stated.

Phosphate’s importance to American agriculture

“There's no replacement for phosphate as a fertilizer for corn and soybeans,” said Grassley, who farms in his home state of Iowa. “I chaired a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall on the high cost of imports. And at that same time, I called on the Trump administration to end the Biden phosphate duties.”

 The executive order is a part of the Trump administration’s broader fertilizer strategy according to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. She said they are improving the supply chain, working against anti-competitive practices, dedicating studies toward the fertilizer markets, and designating phosphate as a critical mineral.

 “For years, American farmers dealt with record fertilizer prices, supply chain disruptions, and increasing reliance on foreign sources,” she said on Twitter/X, adding Trump is taking a different approach. “Providing immediate relief today, while rebuilding America’s fertilizer manufacturing base for the long term.”

Complexity within the fertilizer market

There are many factors that make up the price of fertilizer including the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz and lower Chinese production according to Josh Linville. He analyzes the fertilizer marketplace for StoneX, a global financial services and commodities brokerage firm.

Linville said Morocco is a big market player. It holds around 70% of the world’s phosphate reserves and refused to ship phosphates to the U.S. while the duties remained in place.

 “They held true to their word,” he said in a post on YouTube. “When New Orleans (NOLA) was a massive premium, they didn't send anything here. When the rate dropped below zero or 1%, they didn't send anything here.”

While Linville said Morocco may begin to send some token shipments to the U.S., Grassley pointed out Trump has only paused the tariffs.

“I think it's going to have to be the International Trade Commission making a case to lift them,” the senator said, unsure of how long it would take to remove the tariffs entirely.

“But whatever length of time it is, we can get more phosphate into this country from Moscow or from Morocco. It's going to help agriculture tremendously,” he added.

Caution about Moroccan fertilizer announcement

Linville tempered expectations of the news, he did not believe suspending duties are a silver bullet for the marketplace. Prices around the world are high and the global phosphate market is struggling.

“But listen,” he added. “When it's as stressful as it is, farmers need to celebrate any victory that they can get. I would have much rather had seen this news 12 months ago when we were the highest price in the world. But we don't look a gift horse in the mouth. We take the wins where we can take them.”

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