The tariffs have been suspended, but OCP wants to eliminate them permanently in the United States

OCP has filed an appeal with the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals to challenge the decision issued on July 15 by the Court of International Trade, reports MLex. The Moroccan group is seeking to overturn the finding that its phosphate fertilizers harmed U.S. producers.

The proceedings stem from an investigation opened at the request of Mosaic, one of OCP’s main competitors in the United States. In 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission concluded that subsidized imports from Morocco and Russia had caused material injury to the domestic industry. This conclusion led to the introduction of countervailing duties on Moroccan fertilizers.

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OCP and several importers have since challenged the U.S. analysis. In particular, they dispute the findings concerning the supply available in the United States, the alleged oversupply caused by imports, the decline in prices and the sales lost by local producers.

After the case was sent back to the Commission twice, the Court of International Trade ultimately upheld its new analysis. In its 27-page decision, the judge found that the agency had this time provided sufficient evidence to support its conclusions.

OCP challenges the lasting basis for the tariffs

The Commission relied in particular on a 36.8% increase in the imports concerned between 2017 and 2019, while U.S. consumption fell by 7.5% between 2018 and 2019. Over the period as a whole, Moroccan and Russian fertilizers allegedly gained 10.3 percentage points of market share, while the U.S. industry lost 14.3.

OCP also challenged the inclusion of fertilizers that were later re-exported to Canada. But even after they were removed from the calculations, imports had increased by 33.2%. The court therefore found that this correction did not alter the Commission’s conclusion.

The new legal offensive comes amid a paradoxical situation. Since the end of June, the tariffs in question have temporarily no longer been applied. Donald Trump suspended certain duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizers for a maximum period of eight months, in response to shortages caused by the war with Iran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington had acknowledged that its own production was insufficient to meet the needs of U.S. agriculture. According to the White House, Moroccan producers could supply the United States without facing the same disruptions as several other major suppliers. This crisis strengthened the strategic value of Moroccan phosphates for global supply.

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However, this suspension does not eliminate the trade measures adopted since 2021. The duties may return when the exceptional arrangement expires if their legal basis remains intact.

That is precisely what OCP is now seeking to prevent. A victory on appeal could lead to the annulment or a fresh review of the finding concerning the injury suffered by U.S. producers, an essential condition for maintaining the countervailing duties. The reprieve granted by Trump is temporary; the Moroccan group now wants to permanently eliminate the mechanism threatening its access to the U.S. market.