U.S. senator from Kansas seeks to exempt Moroccan phosphate fertilizer from import tariff

U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, is advocating for an end to tariffs on Moroccan phosphate imports because resulting higher prices paid by U.S. farmers for crop fertilizer is harmful to the economy. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of Marshall's news conference)

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas endorsed federal legislation to end U.S. tariffs on phosphate from Morocco that were imposed five years ago in response to a domestic fertilizer manufacturer’s complaint about unfair competition from subsidized, low-price imports.

“Kansas farmers are getting hit by a fertilizer market that’s working against them,” Marshall said. “Phosphate is a critical nutrient for crop production, and right now farmers are paying prices that threaten their bottom line.”

Countervailing duties applied to Morocco and controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce were set at 19.97% in 2021 after confirming Florida-based fertilizer producer Mosaic’s complaint against Morocco’s state-owned phosphate fertilizer exporter OCP Group.

Texas A&M University estimated the U.S. duties on Morocco increased the cost of fertilizer for U.S. producers by $6.9 billion from 2021 to 2025.

In January, federal officials cut the tariff on Moroccan fertilizer to 2.1% in recognition of how artificially inflated prices were damaging the fragile U.S. agriculture economy. The federal Department of Commerce is conducting a five-year review of the tariff on Morocco.

U.S. commodity organizations have been lobbying for prompt repeal of the countervailing duty with Morocco because of escalation in domestic farm input costs and lack of domestic phosphate resources to meet demands of corn, soybean, cotton and other crop farmers.

Marshall, who is seeking reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2026, said passage of the Lowering Input Costs for American Farmers Act by Congress and President Donald Trump, who has made wide use of tariffs in his second term, would address the problem tied to Morocco’s phosphate.

“It’ll lower the cost of phosphate fertilizer by over 20%. That’s $150 a ton, and that’s real money when it comes to a Kansas farmer,” he said.

He said a bill eliminating tariffs and countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco was introduced Tuesday in the U.S. Senate.

The measure was endorsed by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cotton Council, USA Rice, Sorghum Growers and the National Association of Wheat Growers.

“Wheat growers have borne nearly $1 billion in additional costs from these duties, and this bill would help restore access to a critical input and provide needed relief to farmers,” said Sam Kieffer, CEO of the wheat farmer association.