By Scout Nelson
Kansas Senator Jerry Moran and other Kansas legislators are urging U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to revise how the department calculates countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco.
The legislators say that the current methodology is unfair to U.S. farmers and is putting a financial burden on them. They are asking the Commerce Department to carefully consider and follow a recent decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) in its recalculation of the subsidy amount.
The CIT decision remanded a calculation of its subsidiaries to the Department of Corrections, which impacts duties imposed on phosphate fertilizers. The bicameral group of legislators addressed the financial burden the duties have placed on farmers.
"We ask that Commerce carefully consider and follow the CIT's decision in Commerce's recalculation of the subsidy amount, both in its final determination in the investigation and its administrative review," the members wrote. "Reducing the subsidy rate would provide welcomed relief for U.S. farm suppliers and their customers, American family farms."
The legislators argue that the current methodology is not based on sound economic principles and is leading to inflated duties. They say that this is putting U.S. farmers at a disadvantage compared to their global competitors.
The Commerce Department is currently reviewing the CIT decision and has not yet made a decision on whether to revise its methodology.
To read the full text of the letter, click HERE.
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Categories: Kansas, Business