Fertilizer Year AS Imports Up 28 Percent; Imports from E.U. 35.3 Percent

U.S. ammonium sulfate (AS) imports were up 28 percent, to 566,751 st for the year ending June 30, 2019, from the prior year 442,271 st, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data. Imports from the European Union countries were up 35.3 percent, to 253,526 st from the year-ago 187,361 st.

Currently, E.U. AS enters the U.S. duty free, while most U.S. fertilizer exports to the E.U. require a 6.5 percent duty. Interoceanic Corp., White Plains, N.Y., which is an affiliate of AS producer PCI Nitrogen, Pasadena, Texas, is arguing that the U.S. should level the playing field and impose at least a 6.5 percent tariff on E.U. AS imports (GM Aug. 23, p. 1; Aug. 16, p. 34). U.S. nitrogen producer CF Industries Holdings Inc., Deerfield, Ill., argues for at least a 6.5 percent duty, if not 100 percent.

Archer Daniels Midland Co., Chicago, has been the main opponent arguing against tariffs on AS imports, as it is a major customer of Belgium-made AS, though other players such as Yara North America, Tampa, Wilbur-Ellis Co., San Francisco, and others have argued against across-the-board tariffs on all nitrogen products.

The U.S. has the capacity to produce just over 3 million mt/y of AS, according to Green Markets data. U.S. exports exceed imports; exports were up 12 percent for the fertilizer year ending June 30, to 851,728 st from the year-ago 758,121 st. E.U. countries took a very small amount of U.S. exports – a total of 4,330 st in the recent year, or 0.5 percent, with the amount spread between Denmark, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Lithuania. The bulk of U.S. exports went to Canada and Latin American countries.