Several agricultural inputs are exempt from the ten percent across-the-board tariffs and the higher reciprocal duties applied to specific trade partners. Agriculture Dot Com says that’s according to a list of carve outs published by the White House.
Products excluded from the new duties include potash, certain herbicides and pesticides, peat, lumber products, lubricating oils, some energy products, and certain pharmaceuticals, including tranquilizers and vaccines for veterinary use. Diquat and paraquat are among the herbicides listed.
Representatives from the agriculture industry and farm-state lawmakers have been pushing the administration for weeks for a slate of exemptions to any new duties. While the exemptions apply to the new ten percent duties and reciprocal tariffs, the list doesn’t apply to the 25 percent tariffs already in place on Mexico and Canada, even though Canada is a major U.S. supplier of some of the listed items. Multiple U.S. ag organizations fought hard for the exemptions.
The Fertilizer Institute thanked members of Congress in both chambers for sending a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in support of potash and phosphate being included on the list of critical minerals.
“We thank the multiple senators and representatives for working together and uniting a bipartisan voice urging the Secretary of the Interior to rightfully recognize the essential nature of phosphate and potash,” said TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “The majority of the world’s phosphate and potash resources are concentrated in only a few countries, leaving them open to supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical instability.”
He also said the events of the past few years have shown us that food security is national security and now is the time to change how we talk about these vital resources. The U.S. imports about 98 percent of its potash needs, most of which (at 85 percent) comes from Canada.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)