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Morocco’s Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) and Russia’s PhosAgro have left the American market, international news agency Rossia Sevodnia announced on Friday. «Russia and Morocco have almost completely stopped fertilizer sales in the United States», the same source wrote.
The decision comes after the US Commerce Department launched an investigation into whether phosphate fertilizers in Morocco and Russia are receiving unfair subsidies. The move was made after American company Mosaic Co filed a petition against OCP and PhosAgro.
To justify this measure, the American company claimed that «large volumes of unfairly subsidized imports from Morocco and Russia are causing significant harm to its operations».
Rossia Sevodnia's announcement goes hand in hand with that made Tuesday, August 4 by Joc O'Rourke, president and chief executive at Mosaic, during a discussion with financial analysts and representatives from international banks in United States. «Importers who are importing either the OCP or the Russian products definitely took a step back to understand what the risks might be in terms of them picking up some sort of countervailing duty risk. So we did see a step back in July», he said.
Phosphate prices in the US
For the record, on July 24, two senior OCP offcials told Reuters, that OCP group could consider stopping fertilizer sales in the United States if the country’s Commerce Department imposed an anti-subsidy duty on its imports.
«In the unfortunate event of the imposition of a countervailing duty, OCP would be able to redirect its exports towards other markets», OCP officials told the British news agency.
Russian media affirms, moreover, that the petition filed by Mosaic against the OCP and PhosAgro has led to a drop in the supply in the United States and an increase in the prices of phosphate in the American market.
Rossia Sevodnia announced that «in early August, the United States International Trade Commission found that imports of phosphate fertilizers from Russia and Morocco had harmed American industry. Also, it voted for the Commerce Department to investigate further. Its preliminary results should be published on September 21».
In its war against the OCP and the Russian PhosAgro, Mosaic Company has offered itself the services of a lobbying firm headed by Brian Ballard. Considered close to President Donald Trump, he actively contributed to his victory in the 2016 presidential elections. Lawyer David Ross, linked to the Republican party, also supported Mosaic.
