U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, both Kansas Republicans, on March 10 introduced the Emergency Relief From Duties Act aimed at creating emergency waivers for duties levied on fertilizers by the U.S. International Trade Commission in their respective bodies of Congress.
This legislation creates a pathway to establish a waiver of Countervailing Duty or Anti-dumping Duty for a year if there is an emergency situation including natural disasters, war, epidemics, labor disputes or major accidents. Marshall and Mann served on the ag committees in the Senate and House, respectively.
“Fertilizer prices are at an all-time high yet additional tariffs continue to be placed on fertilizer, worsening the burden of historic production costs for America’s farmers,” Marshall said. “While we don’t want foreign governments to distort trade with the United States, we must provide flexibility during emergency situations to ensure input costs don’t hinder our farmers’ ability to feed, fuel, and clothe the world.”
“Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers provide America with essential products while operating in one of the most high-risk industries,” Mann said. “That’s why it’s critical to provide them with opportunities for market remedies, especially in times of emergency and unprecedented volatility like we have seen over the last several years. If we don’t support farmers now, we’ll see the crumbling of America’s independent food security in the future.”
“Fertilizers and other inputs have been at an all-time high, and the war in Ukraine promises to drive up the price of products even more,” said Iowa farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Chris Edgington. “Fertilizer have become increasingly hard to secure and pay for because of tariffs or the threat tariffs on imports. That’s why passage of this legislation would come as a welcome relief to farmers across the country.”
“The National Sorghum Producers strongly supports maintaining anti-dumping laws that prohibit foreign nations from anticompetitive practices such as selling their products onto the U.S. market at below their own costs of production. But we also need to ensure that we do not create near monopoly conditions here at home that result in exorbitant fertilizer prices. The legislation introduced by Senator Marshall and Rep. Mann strikes that important balance,” said National Sorghum Producers Chairman Kody Carson.
“The current volatility in global markets, as well as skyrocketing input costs threaten to be detrimental to American farmers’ bottom line this growing season,” said Southeast Kansas Farmer and Kansas Soybean Association member Charles Atkinson. “Waiving fertilizer tariffs through the ITC helps to alleviate some of these costs for producers during emergency situations without rewarding foreign governments for market and trade distortion.
