In an unprecedented offensive, over 60 American agricultural organizations are urging Washington to lift tariffs on Moroccan phosphates. Faced with skyrocketing production costs, American farmers are choosing their side: that of the smooth and competitive supply guaranteed by the Kingdom.
The showdown between American grain producers and their own administration has reached a new level. In an open letter addressed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a united front consisting of 50 state groups and 8 national organizations (corn, soybeans, wheat, rice) is calling for the complete repeal of countervailing duties imposed on Moroccan fertilizers.
Is the market held hostage by a duopoly?
At the heart of this discord is a complaint filed in 2020 by the American giant Mosaic, backed by JR Simplot. They accused the OCP of benefiting from government subsidies that allow it to undercut prices in the American market. The result: the imposition of tariffs that have mechanically increased input costs for farms across the Atlantic.
Today, farmers are denouncing a rent-seeking situation. “The maintenance of these tariffs allows a small number of powerful companies to restrict supply,” the letter’s signatories criticize. For them, Mosaic’s protectionism comes at the expense of the competitiveness of the entire American Farm Belt.
Moroccan phosphate: Fuel for US food security
Phosphate is not merely a chemical product; it is the engine behind the yields of corn, soybeans, and cotton. By 2025, fertilizers accounted for up to 40% of operating costs for some American farmers. In a context of climate volatility and tensions in the Middle East, the absence of Moroccan supply in the American market is creating artificial shortages and unbearable inflation.
“These tariffs have contributed to the affordability crisis affecting our rural communities today,” agricultural organizations warn.
A decisive re-examination under high tension
The timing of this mobilization is not coincidental. American authorities (the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission) are currently in the process of re-evaluating these measures. The resulting decision will determine whether OCP’s ships can resume their massive rotations to American ports without tariff barriers.
For Morocco, this overwhelming support from American end-users is a significant diplomatic and commercial victory. It demonstrates that Moroccan fertilizers have become a systemic link in American agriculture, to the extent that its own operators are transforming into lobbyists for the Kingdom, against their own national industrial champions.