WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Two weeks after the Trump administration suspended duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer, OCP Group is ready to ship to the United States. Ships could be headed to New Orleans "as early as the end of this week or next week," USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden told DTN in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

The duty-free shipments follow President Donald Trump's June 29 announcement suspending phosphate duties after months of advocacy from farm groups and negotiations between USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco, OCP Group is the world's largest producer of phosphate rock and phosphate-based fertilizers.

Vaden told DTN that OCP's CEO met with USDA officials this week to finalize the logistics needed to begin shipments to the United States. The administration hopes the move will lower fertilizer prices for farmers amid trade disruptions stemming from the conflict involving Iran.

So far, phosphate fertilizer prices have changed little because the additional supply has not yet reached the market.

According to reporting by DTN Fertilizer Editor Russ Quinn in his weekly Retail Fertilizer Trends column, MAP averaged $954 per ton, down $1 from a month earlier. DAP averaged $912 per ton, up $3 from the previous month.

"Those price effects should begin to filter through when the ships hit New Orleans," Vaden said.

DTN reached out to the OCP Group to confirm this progress but has not heard back.

USDA estimates the suspension of duties could reduce phosphate fertilizer costs by as much as 22%, generating an estimated $1.82 billion in annual savings while benefiting roughly 100,000 farmers across 97 million planted acres.

Vaden said the remaining delay involved paperwork with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to determine "how exactly to classify this under the president's order."

Since 2021, Moroccan fertilizer producer OCP and Russian phosphate exporters have faced U.S. countervailing duties after domestic fertilizer producer Mosaic successfully argued that subsidized imports from both countries materially injured the U.S. phosphate industry. Before the duties took effect in April 2021, Morocco and OCP supplied a significant share of the U.S. phosphate market.

VADEN: "A SMART BUSINESS DECISION"

The suspension of the duties runs through February, when the suspension is scheduled to expire.

Vaden emphasized the suspension is time-bound, not volume-bound, meaning OCP can ship unlimited volumes of fertilizer to the United States during the suspension.

"That means that if retailers want to place large orders with OCP ... they absolutely can do that."

He said retailers could lock in lower-priced supplies that would last well beyond next February.

The conflict involving Iran also continues to create uncertainty for global fertilizer markets. The ceasefire has not held and shipping risks remain around the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor for global fertilizer and energy exports.

"That would seem to be a smart business decision," Vaden said about locking in supplies during the duty suspension. "It will mean that for the fall fertilizer season, and for those smart retailers that want to go ahead and start stockpiling for next year, they can do so."

WHAT ABOUT THE FERTILIZER INVESTIGATIONS?

There are multiple avenues for investigating potential antitrust violations in the fertilizer industry. Federal antitrust enforcement is shared between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with a clear distinction between their roles.

"The Department of Justice is the agency that has the ability to bring criminal charges. The FTC doesn't have U.S. attorneys," Vaden said. The FTC can recommend civil action.

The FTC has already made its fertilizer investigation public. At a meeting with Texas farmers in May, the commission announced it had launched an investigation into the fertilizer industry, "including the issuance of compulsory process," meaning the FTC has begun issuing subpoenas for industry information. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson pointed to USDA data showing fertilizer has experienced the largest increase in farmers' input costs since 2020. (See "FTC Investigating Fertilizer Market" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….)

This week, the Iowa Corn Growers Association, joined by 16 other state corn organizations, sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Richard J. Durbin, urging them to call on the DOJ to expedite its investigation into alleged collusive practices in the fertilizer industry.

"Announcements and reports of investigations are welcome news, but it will take decisive action to restore free and fair markets so that the same competitive environment farmers face when selling their crops is present when they purchase inputs like fertilizer," the letter stated.

Vaden said USDA remains strongly interested in agricultural competition. While the department has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, he pointed to recent DOJ actions, including settlements with John Deere and new developments involving three companies accused of egg-price collusion, as signs that fertilizer could be next.

"If they were able to pull out illegal activity through investigating that ... I think that if I'm in one of these other industries and there's other chicanery afoot, I would not sleep soundly at night," he said.

During the FTC's May meeting with corn farmers, commissioners asked producers to provide substantial evidence of potential anticompetitive conduct, including emails, phone records, notes, and other documentation showing pressure from fertilizer companies or distributors to make purchasing decisions.

"We know farmers get calls to put pressure on them with regard to their decisions about buying ag inputs all the time," Vaden said.

Currently, farmers can submit information through the FTC's general antitrust complaint form, and commodity organizations have also been forwarding reports directly to the agriculture secretary's office.

"We are asking for farmers to provide us that information. You can remain confidential," Vaden said. A formal portal is expected soon, Vaden indicated.

See the letter sent by corn organizations here:

https://www.iowacorn.org/….

For a History of Mosaic petitions, visit

https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Jake Zajkowski can be reached at Jake.Zajkowski@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @jzajkow

(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.