CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – The U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously voted to end anti-dumping and countervailing duties (tariffs) imposed on the popular fertilizer urea ammonium nitrate imported from Russia, Trinidad, and Tobago, on July 18. This went into effect immediately.

“This comes as a welcome relief,” said Chris Edgington, National Corn Growers Assoc. president. “We have been sounding the alarms and telling the (U.S. International Trade Commission) commissioners that tariffs will drive up input prices to even more unaffordable levels for farmers, and cripple our supply. I am so glad they listened.”

The decision comes on the heels of a petition filed by CF Industries Nitrogen of Deerfield, Ill., with the U.S. International Trade Commission in late 2021.

“This case was brought by CF Industries about a year ago in a petition to the (U.S. International Trade Commission) to impose duties because they said that there was dumping, and unfair subsidies being placed on these fertilizer exports that was hurting their business,” said Dave Salmonsen, American Farm Bureau Federation senior director of government affairs.

“But the International Trade Commission, after a couple of hearings, and (a lot) of evidence from both sides, decided that the duty should not be imposed,” he added.

According to the Congressional Research Service, “Anti-dumping and countervailing duties address unfair trade practices by providing relief to U.S. industries and workers that are “materially injured,” or threatened with injury, due to imports of like products sold in the U.S. market at less than fair value (anti-dumping duties), or subsidized by a foreign government or public entity (countervailing duties).”

Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are intended to offset the value of dumping and/or subsidization, thereby leveling the playing field for domestic industries injured by such unfairly traded imports.

Virgil Schmitt, Iowa State University field agronomist, said the major nitrogen sources are anhydrous ammonia (a gas), urea ammonium nitrate (a liquid), and urea (a granular).

“First, nitrogen is an essential nutrient needed for corn production,” he said. “Without it, our corn crops would only be about one-third of what they are. When there is a shortage of the total amount of nitrogen fertilizer available, fertilizer prices go up and/or corn production goes down when some fields do not receive adequate fertilizer.”

Mark Licht, Iowa State University assistant professor of agronomy, said, “Urea ammonium nitrate is one of the nitrogen fertilizers that is commonly used for U.S. crop production.”

“That’s why it’s such an issue and can have an impact on U.S. crop production,” he said. “If the anti-dumping and countervailing duties on (urea ammonium nitrate) would have been upheld, that adds to the cost of (urea ammonium nitrate) as a nitrogen source.

“With nitrogen being such an important nutrient and already having high prices, the duties would have added more cost of production for commodities such as corn and wheat,” he added.

Last month, the American Soybean Assoc., the National Assoc. of Wheat Growers and Agricultural Retailers Assoc., and other farm groups, asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to consider that “price pressure experienced by commodity farmers has cascading effects that reverberate through the farm economy.”

The groups also told the U.S. International Trade Commission, “Few inputs have exhibited more price inflation than urea ammonium nitrate, which has experienced a jarringly high price increase due in large part to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. These two countries are important crop and energy producers, as well as producers of fertilizers and fertilizer input products – including natural gas for urea ammonium nitrate.”

Brad Doyle, American Soybean Assoc. president, and Weiner, Ark., soybean grower, said the American Soybean Assoc., had expressed concerns with fertilizer prices and availability for over a year.

“Today’s ruling by the (International Trade Commission) against the imposition of final duties on imports of (urea ammonium nitrate) from Trinidad and Tobago and Russia will provide much-needed relief from tariffs for U.S. soybean growers and farmers across the country,” he said.

“We thank the (International Trade Commission) for considering the impact on farmers in their determination, and the (American Soybean Assoc.) will continue to advocate for the removal of tariffs,” he added.

Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation president, said, “The (American Farm Bureau Federation) is pleased the U.S. International Trade Commission did as we asked (last month) by rejecting the Commerce Department’s proposal to impose tariffs on imports of (urea ammonium nitrate), a key fertilizer.”

“Skyrocketing supply costs are already forcing some farmers into the red,” he said. “The cost of fertilizer increased more than 60 percent from 2021 to 2022, and that’s not sustainable.

“We appreciate the commission’s recognition that adding unnecessary import costs would have made it difficult for farmers to access an affordable supply of this crucial nutrient at a time when America’s farmers are being called on to meet growing demand here at home and abroad,” he added.

Tony Will, CF Industries president and CEO, however, in a July 18 statement, said the company is disappointed in the U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision.

“We are disappointed that the International Trade Commission has determined the U.S (urea ammonium nitrate) industry has not been harmed by the unfair trade practices from state-subsidized entities underpinning (urea ammonium nitrate) imports from Russia and Trinidad that were clearly established through thorough and impartial investigations by the U.S. government,” he said.

“Unfortunately, this outcome will perpetuate an unlevel playing field for a domestic industry that has invested billions of dollars in the U.S. to ensure American farmers have a reliable source of (urea ammonium nitrate) fertilizer,” he said.

Ryan Drollette, Iowa State University farm management specialist, said, “The U.S. still needs to import 12 percent of our nitrogen needs to be able to meet all of the needs for any given cropping year.”

“Of that 12 percent, 65 percent of it comes from Trinidad and Tobago,” he said. “I am not sure what form of nitrogen we are importing, but it would be significant to not add tariffs to raise the price higher than they are now. If a tariff was added, the price of the tariff would be passed on to the producer, or end user of the product.”

Salmonsen said, “We should start seeing some more product come into the U.S. from Russia and Trinidad-Tobago, and that should have an impact on prices.”