The US Department of Commerce has continued to recommend maintaining countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate imports, according to its sunset review final results, even while US President Donald Trump has temporarily suspended the levies.
The Department of Commerce upheld its preliminary July 2026 recommendation, determining that the Moroccan government provides a 20.04% subsidy to state-owned OCP's phosphate production. Therefore, the Department of Commerce has recommended that the International Trade Commission (ITC) implement a matching 20.04% import duty on Moroccan imports.
The Department of Commerce in June 2026 released its countervailing duty recommendation in the sunset review for Russian phosphate fertilizer imports, noting the process was expedited due to adequate interest from domestic US companies Mosaic and Simplot, while Russia did not respond or participate in proceedings.
The ITC has agreed to handle the remainder of the five-year reviews for Morocco and Russia, determining if material injury to the domestic phosphate industry would occur if the duties were removed. If the Department of Commerce determines the duties should remain, but ITC says that injury is not likely, then the duties would be revoked. But if both agencies agree that the duties should remain and that material injury is still possible, then the duties would not be revoked.
In June 2026, President Trump temporarily suspended countervailing duties on certain phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco for eight months or until the order is terminated, citing a ‘supply emergency’ for US farmers. Various shipments of Moroccan DAP, MAP, and TSP have returned to the US over the course of the latter half of 2026.
Original article written by Taylor Zavala for Argus Media.
