AMERICA'S AGRICULTURE IS A CRITICAL NATIONAL ASSET.
This includes the phosphate fertilizer we depend upon to grow our crops.
As with other critical needs like fuel, medicine and silicon chips, we cannot depend on unreliable countries to provide the vital nutrients for our crops. America’s agricultural independence is a matter of both food and national security. We need actions that reflect these priorities, not policies that put them at risk.
It ensures strong continued U.S. phosphate fertilizer production along with a diverse and trusted supply of the imports we need to meet domestic demand. This matters to Americans: nearly 80%* say it is important that our crops are grown with American-made phosphate fertilizer. That’s why in 2021, countervailing duties (CVDs) were put in place to curb unfair trade practices by Russia and Morocco. Their heavy government subsidies artificially undercut prices and squeeze trusted suppliers – including domestic producers – out of the U.S. market.
Fair trade is critical to our agricultural independence.
Today, fair trade is at risk.
Thanks to CVDs, fair trade is working to return more competition, supply, and stability to the market. It is now under attack with Russia and Morocco lobbying to eliminate duties even though their unfair trade practices continue. The implications of not protecting fair trade are far-reaching and dangerous for American agriculture: unreliable foreign governments will use artificially low prices to seize outsized control over the cost and supply of the essential nutrients needed to grow our food.
*Bendixen & Amandi International completed interviews with 1,100 adult registered voters residing in the United States from Nov. 1 - Nov. 8, 2022
What is phosphate fertilizer – and why does it matter?
American crops feed our families and help feed the world. And healthy, productive crops require phosphate fertilizer. Referred to as the “miracle mineral”, it is the critical nutrient for crop growth and is essential for the health and vigor of all crops. Simply put, it is the food that feeds our food. Without a reliable supply of phosphate fertilizer ensured by fair trade, American agricultural security is at risk.