A recent finding from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has determined that certain fertilizer imports are causing harm to American industries. The decision comes after an investigation into imports of urea ammonium nitrate solutions (UAN) from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago. ITC found that American industries are being “materially injured” by UAN imports. The action comes after a petition from CF Industries Holdings, Inc. that claimed fertilizers were being dumped into the American market at unfair margins.
“As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce will continue its investigations of imports of urea ammonium nitrate solutions from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago, with its preliminary countervailing duty determinations due on or about September 23, 2021, and its antidumping duty determinations due on or about December 7, 2021,” ITC said in a press release.
The Commerce Department will be evaluating whether imports from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago have been unfairly subsidized. The full report on the fertilizer imports will become available on September 13. According to an analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), Russia and Trinidad and Tobago supply more than 80 percent of UAN fertilizer imports. Last year, the total value of UAN imports from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago was $297.3 million. In the event that both agencies find injury to American industry, antidumping and countervailing duty orders would be put into place. Any new orders that would be implemented would remain in effect for five years.
AFBF has warned that any additional tariffs on UAN imports would be troublesome for producers. Prices for fertilizer products have been steadily increasing in recent years. New duties imposed on fertilizer imports could ultimately harm U.S. farmers by further increasing the cost of production. AFBF noted that limiting UAN supplies with increased duties would have significant implications for producers for years to come.
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