The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Aug. 13 made a preliminary determination to proceed with antidumping and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations into UAN imports from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago. The initial petition was filed by CF Industries Nitrogen and two of its units on June 30 (GM July 2, p. 1).
ITC will now report its findings to the U.S. Department of Commerce on Aug. 16, which will then proceed with its own investigation.
| Schedule | AD | CVD |
| ITC Preliminary Determination | Aug. 16, 2021 | Aug. 16, 2021 |
| DOC Preliminary Determination | Dec. 7, 2021 | Sept. 23, 2021 |
| DOC Final Determination | Feb. 22, 2022 | Dec. 7, 2021 |
| ITC Final Determination | April 8, 2022 | Jan. 21, 2022 |
CF Industries Holdings Inc., Deerfield, Ill., was anticipating the decision at its Aug. 10 earnings call. “Our expectation is that if we get a favorable outcome, we would expect UAN to go back to the historical practice of trading at a premium to other upgraded nitrogen products,” said Tony Will, CF President and CEO.
“And so because it is good for the grower and it is higher cost to produce, it ought to carry a premium, and that’s where it was,” added Will. “And that is really where it should be in the absence of dumped tons.
“The U.S. domestic manufacturing capacity is sufficient to serve the U.S. demand, and so there’s really no need for those imported, particularly the subsidized tons, to show up over here,” he said. And as a result, he said CF would not have to export tons.
Will said CF plans to supply a higher portion of the U.S.’s UAN needs with a system that is built for the logistics on all major railroads and on rivers and now with a reach into California and the East Coast. He said CF now has very competitive rail rates into California and it has invested with partners in tank space. He said CF’s ability to satisfy U.S. domestic demand is better now than it has ever been.
On the other hand, other major players that import UAN have argued that CF built up its Donaldsonville UAN capacity to export product and ignored coastal markets, leaving the door open for imports (GM July 23, p. 1). They said after the European Union imposed duties on U.S. product, CF turned back to the U.S. to dump its formerly exported product.
Yara North America Inc., Tampa, on Aug. 9 added its voice to the fray with a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo suggesting a “cautious approach to the use of tariffs and duties.”
“Due to logistical constraints, certain market regions, especially in coastal agricultural areas, are highly dependent on imports from a globally competitive supply source to meet their necessary crop nutrition and input demand,” said Gary Vogen, Yara Vice President, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs. “The analysis must take into consideration the restraints that limiting supply options would impose on each individual market, in order not to burden farmers in those regions with added costs.”
The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) on Aug. 6 expressed its opposition to the duties, also listing its concern for coastal markets (see related story).