Mosaic Announces Petitions Seeking U.S. Countervailing Duties on Phosphate Fertilizer Imports From Morocco and Russia

The Mosaic Company has filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission that request the initiation of countervailing duty investigations into imports of phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia. The purpose of the petitions is to remedy the distortions that foreign subsidies are causing in the U.S. market for phosphate fertilizers, and thereby restore fair competition.

Mosaic is not competing on a level playing field. Government subsidies in Morocco and Russia give phosphate producers unfair cost advantages. This has been a long-term and increasingly injurious situation, and we have engaged in this process to demonstrate unfair trade practices by international competitors.

Phosphate imports to the U.S. have risen dramatically in recent years as producers seek markets where domestic players are not protected by import duties. Europe and other major fertilizer markets impose tariffs to which Mosaic is subject as an exporter.

As the largest U.S. producer of phosphate fertilizers, Mosaic took this action because large volumes of unfairly subsidized imports from Morocco and Russia are causing significant harm to Mosaic’s operations. Mosaic’s phosphate fertilizer business employs approximately 3,500 U.S. workers and operates mines and production facilities in Florida and processing plants in Louisiana.

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission will consider the petitions and determine the next steps, which typically involve extensive administrative investigations. Mosaic intends to participate actively in those proceedings. We are bringing these actions under well recognized laws, and the remedies (in the form of countervailing duties) we are requesting are directly connected and proportional to the level of the subsidies.

Mosaic is a Key Driver of the Central Florida Economy