The European Union says it is open to lowering tariffs on U.S. fertilizer imports as an offer in trade talks with the Trump administration but will not weaken its food safety standards in pursuit of a deal. Whether that would mean zero tariffs, or a reduction of current rates, would need to be negotiated. U.S. exports face the EU’s standard tariffs of 5.5% on imports of ammonia, and 6.5% on nitrogen fertilizers.
Reducing tariffs could boost Europe’s purchases of U.S. fertilizer, to fill a gap as the EU cuts supplies from Russia. Around 24% of the EU’s nitrogen fertilizer imports came from Russia in 2023, while the U.S. accounted for 8%, EU data shows. Europeans would prefer buying fertilizers from the U.S. than from Russia. The EU will hit nitrogen-based fertilizers from Russia with tariffs rising to 100% over three years, a level that would effectively halt annual trade flows currently worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion).
