The US Department of Commerce has made a preliminary decision that phosphate fertilizers exporters from Russia and Morocco received government assistance thus gaining an unfair advantage in US market, which will lead to imposition of countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from these countries, according to the department's International Trade Administration (ITA)
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2020) The US Department of Commerce has made a preliminary decision that phosphate fertilizers exporters from Russia and Morocco received government assistance thus gaining an unfair advantage in US market, which will lead to imposition of countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from these countries, according to the department's International Trade Administration (ITA).
In June, US phosphate and potash manufacturer Mosaic petitioned the US government to impose tariffs on fertilizer imports from the two countries, citing subsidies those countries' producers allegedly receive from their governments.
"Commerce preliminarily determined that exporters received countervailable subsidies rates of 23.46 percent, and 20.94 percent to 72.50 percent, respectively. As a result of today's decisions, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia based on these preliminary rates," the ITA said in a statement.
According to Mosaic, the 20.94 percent and 72.5 percent rates are for Russian PhosAgro and Swiss-based EuroChem companies.
"Mosaic believes in vigorous competition and free and fair trade, and that these foreign government subsidies must be addressed in order to level the playing field in the U.S. market. Today's ruling moves a step closer to fair trade and an assurance for U.S. farmers that they will be able to rely on U.S. fertilizer for decades to come," Mosaic President and CEO Joc O'Rourke said in a statement.
According to the WTO requirements, to impose countervailing measures, a country must first determine the existence of subsidized imports, economic damage to a domestic industry, as well as a causal link between the two.
