A bill introduced in Congress on Thursday would seek to lower fertilizer costs for farmers by creating emergency waivers for import taxes placed on fertilizers by the U.S. Trade Commission.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Rep. Tracy Mann (R-KS) introduced the Emergency Relief from Duties Act in their respective bodies of Congress.
According to Farm Bureau, fertilizer costs have increased dramatically since Sept. 2020:
- Ammonia has increased over 210%
- Liquid nitrogen has increased over 159%
- Urea is up 155%
- MAP has increased 125%
- DAP is up over 100%
- Potash has risen above 134%.
Included in the costs are duties, or import taxes, since the majority of fertilizers are imported to the U.S. from other countries such as China and Morocco.
“Fertilizers and other inputs have been at an all-time high, and the war in Ukraine promises to drive up the price of products even more,” says Chris Edgington, Presidnt of the National Corn Growers Association. “Fertilizers have become increasingly hard to secure and pay for because of tariffs or the threat of tariffs on imports. That’s why passage of this legislation would come as a welcome relief to farmers across the country.”
The bill comes as the U.S. International Trade Commission levied tariffs against imports of phosphate fertilizer at the request of a U.S. fertilizer company.
The bill would make it possible to establish a waiver of countervailing duties or anti-dumping duties for a year if there is an emergency situation such as a natural disaster, act of terrorism, a labor strike or a major accident.
Click HERE to read the Senate bill.
