The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) revoked hefty anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on urea ammonium nitrate fertilizers from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.
The panel's vote may help ease shortages and price increases for fertilizers brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both major fertilizer exporters, reports Reuters.
The decision cancels recently imposed U.S. combined anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of up to 132.6% on Russian urea nitrate fertilizer solutions and 113.5% on such imports from Trinidad and Tobago.
“AFBF is pleased the U.S. International Trade Commission did as we asked by rejecting the Commerce Department’s proposal to impose tariffs on imports of UAN, a key fertilizer," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.
Skyrocketing supply costs are already forcing some farmers into the red, said Duvall.
"The cost of fertilizer increased more than 60% from 2021 to 2022 and that’s not sustainable," he said.
The ruling came as a big surprise to the fertilizer industry, said Alexis Maxwell, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
“This ruling is negative for U.S. nitrogen producers," said Maxell. The ruling sent shares of fertilizer producer CF Industries tumbling as much as 4.9% in New York.
