The Morocco phosphate fertilizer CVD sunset review preserves a significant compliance issue for importers, distributors, and agricultural supply chains. Commerce concluded that revoking the order would likely allow countervailable subsidies to continue or recur at 20.04 percent, but that finding does not itself establish a new cash deposit rate.
What Commerce's Sunset Finding Means
Commerce completed the first full sunset review of the countervailing duty order covering phosphate fertilizers from Morocco. The agency determined that revocation would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of countervailable subsidies at a net rate of 20.04 percent ad valorem for OCP S.A. and all other producers or exporters.
The 20.04 Percent Rate Is Not a New Deposit Rate
The most important operational distinction is between the rate calculated for sunset review purposes and the cash deposit rate applied to entries. Commerce reports the sunset rate to the U.S. International Trade Commission as the subsidy rate likely to prevail if the order were revoked. It does not automatically replace the deposit instructions currently governing imports.
Importers should therefore avoid updating entry calculations, landed cost models, or broker instructions solely because of the 20.04 percent finding. Cash deposit treatment generally remains controlled by the existing order, subsequent administrative review results, and active entry instructions. The original order has been in place since April 2021, and its legal effect continues while the five-year review process remains pending.
Why Commerce Conducted a Full Review
The proceeding became a full sunset review because domestic interested parties, the Government of Morocco, and OCP submitted adequate substantive responses. The review addressed whether subsidy programs had changed substantially, the treatment of government loan guarantees, a payroll tax refund issue involving adverse facts available, relevant judicial decisions, and the calculation of the likely subsidy rate.
A full review permits more extensive consideration of factual and legal arguments than an expedited review. For trade compliance teams, however, the practical result remains straightforward. Commerce found a sufficient likelihood of recurring subsidization to support continuation, subject to the ITC's separate injury determination.
The ITC Review Determines Whether the Order Continues
Commerce's affirmative subsidy finding satisfies only one part of the sunset review framework. The ITC is separately evaluating whether revocation would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of material injury to the U.S. industry within a reasonably foreseeable period.
Subsidy and Injury Are Separate Questions
Commerce generally examines whether countervailable subsidies are likely to continue or recur. The ITC evaluates likely injury to the domestic industry. Both agencies must reach the findings required for the order to remain in place. If the ITC reaches a negative determination, the order would generally be revoked even though Commerce identified a 20.04 percent likely subsidy rate.
The ITC scheduled a full five-year review covering phosphate fertilizer orders involving Morocco and Russia. The proceeding includes a prehearing phase, an in-person hearing scheduled for April 1, 2027, and final written comments scheduled for late April 2027. The extended schedule reflects the complexity of the market, including fertilizer availability, domestic production, agricultural input costs, and global supply conditions.
The Order Remains Legally Relevant During Review
Importers should not treat the pending ITC proceeding as a suspension or revocation of the order. The countervailing duty order remains in effect unless and until the responsible agencies complete the sunset process and issue instructions changing its status.
An administrative review for the 2025 period was rescinded after review requests were withdrawn. That rescission did not terminate the order and should not be confused with the sunset review. Administrative reviews typically examine company-specific subsidy rates for a defined period, while sunset reviews determine whether an order should continue. Importers should maintain separate tracking for both types of proceedings because they create different compliance, deposit, and liquidation consequences.
Managing Entries, Cash Deposits, and Landed Cost
The sunset result requires careful interpretation within a more complicated entry environment. A temporary presidential action has suspended collection of countervailing duties on qualifying Moroccan phosphate fertilizer entries for up to eight months, or until the underlying emergency ends, with implementing procedures effective July 8, 2026.
Temporary Collection Relief Does Not Revoke the Order
The temporary suspension affects duty collection procedures, but it does not erase the CVD order or reverse Commerce's sunset finding. Importers should confirm whether each shipment qualifies under the temporary procedures, review the applicable entry date, and retain the instructions supporting the treatment declared to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Entries outside the authorized period or scope may remain subject to the otherwise applicable cash deposit requirements. When the temporary relief ends, regular collection procedures may resume unless another legal action changes the order. The 20.04 percent sunset rate should not be substituted automatically for the rate assigned through the applicable deposit instructions.
Entry Controls Should Reflect Multiple Rate Layers
Importers and customs brokers should build controls that distinguish among the CVD order rate, company-specific rates established through administrative reviews, the sunset review rate, and temporary collection instructions. These figures serve different purposes and should not be combined in a single generic duty field.
Recommended controls generally include:
- Confirming the producer, exporter, country of origin, and product scope before entry.
- Preserving the entry instructions effective on the date of importation.
- Separating estimated ordinary customs duty from antidumping and countervailing duty amounts.
- Recording whether temporary suspension procedures were used.
- Monitoring liquidation status and changes to deposit instructions.
- Updating landed cost forecasts for both temporary relief and potential reinstatement of collection.
Agricultural buyers should also recognize that a temporary reduction in cash outlay does not necessarily eliminate longer-term exposure. Contract terms should allocate responsibility for duty changes, scope disputes, and post-entry adjustments.
Duty Drawback Treatment for Fertilizer Entries
Duty drawback analysis requires a strict separation between ordinary customs duties and trade remedy duties. Under 19 U.S.C. 1677h, antidumping and countervailing duties are not eligible for drawback. Exporting or destroying imported Moroccan phosphate fertilizer does not convert an assessed CVD amount into a refundable duty.
Ordinary Customs Duties May Still Qualify
Ordinary customs duties paid on the same entry may potentially qualify for drawback when the merchandise is exported or destroyed, or when it is used to manufacture an exported article. Eligibility depends on the applicable drawback provision, the underlying transaction, and satisfaction of the relevant documentation, timing, and matching requirements.
This distinction matters because a single entry summary can contain multiple financial components. A drawback calculation that treats the total duty payment as eligible could improperly include CVD, while a calculation that excludes the entire entry could leave recoverable ordinary duties unclaimed.
Drawback Records Should Segregate Duty Types
Brokers and drawback filers should preserve line-level data that identifies ordinary customs duty, countervailing duty, antidumping duty, merchandise processing fees, and any other charges separately. The same discipline should extend to substituted merchandise, manufacturing records, export documentation, bills of material, and certificates of delivery where applicable.
Temporary suspension of CVD collection creates another data consideration. If no countervailing duty was collected on a qualifying entry, there is no CVD payment to include in a refund calculation. If ordinary duty was paid, that amount may still be evaluated independently for drawback eligibility.
A defensible drawback process should therefore reconcile the entry data used for the claim against the actual amounts paid and the final liquidation record. It should not rely solely on a projected landed cost file or a rate stored in a product master.
- Commerce published (or scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026) the final results of its first full sunset review of the CVD order on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco (C-714-001), finding that revocation would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of countervailable subsidies at 20.04 percent ad valorem for OCP S.A. and all others.* This is the rate reported to the ITC (not a new cash-deposit rate). The review was full due to adequate responses from domestic parties (Mosaic and J.R. Simplot), the Government of Morocco, and OCP. Issues included whether programs had changed substantially, government loan guarantees, an adverse facts available rate for OCP's payroll tax refund, judicial decisions, and rate calculations. Case briefs were filed by Morocco/OCP on Aug. 24, 2026, with rebuttals on Aug. 31. The original order dates to April 7, 2021.
- On Oct. 9, 2026, the ITC published a notice scheduling full five-year reviews of the CVD orders on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia (Inv. Nos. 701-TA-650-651), after finding responses adequate and the reviews extraordinarily complicated (extending the period by up to 90 days).* Entries of appearance are due in mid-November 2026. The prehearing staff report is due March 15, 2027, with the in-person hearing set for April 1, 2027, and final comments by April 29, 2027. Both Commerce (subsidy) and ITC (injury) must find likely continuation/recurrence for the orders to remain. Farm groups have urged revocation citing higher costs (e.g., a Texas A&M study estimating $6.9 billion added phosphorus fertilizer expenses 2021-2025), while Mosaic and Simplot support continuation.
- On Oct. 28, 2026, Commerce rescinded the administrative review of the Morocco phosphate fertilizers CVD order for the 2025 period of review (Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2025), after all review requests were timely withdrawn.* A similar rescission occurred for the Russia phosphate order. This follows earlier administrative reviews that adjusted OCP rates (e.g., 16.81 percent for 2022). OCP continues challenging certain subsidy findings (such as mining rights valuation) at the Court of International Trade.
- The June 29, 2026, presidential emergency proclamation (section 318(a) of the Tariff Act) temporarily suspending CVD collection on Moroccan phosphate fertilizers for up to eight months (or until the emergency ends) remains in effect, with Commerce implementing duty-free entry procedures effective July 8, 2026.* The first shipment of about 54,000 tonnes of triple superphosphate arrived at New Orleans in August 2026, the first Moroccan phosphate fertilizer to the U.S. in roughly five years. OCP can ship duty-free through roughly February 2027 while the sunset process continues in parallel. Recent industry context includes lower Moroccan phosphate production and EU fertilizer imports from Morocco (down 42 percent Jan.-Aug. 2026) amid sulfur supply issues, plus an Oct. 30, 2026, EU approval of a Koch-OCP joint venture at Jorf Lasfar. Limited recent practitioner discussion on X focused more on general phosphate supply, Morocco's market dominance, and global fertilizer/food security than the specific 20.04 percent sunset finding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 20.04 Percent Finding Change Current Cash Deposit Rates?
No. The 20.04 percent rate represents the net countervailable subsidy rate Commerce determined would likely prevail if the order were revoked. It is reported for the sunset review and does not automatically become a new cash deposit rate. Importers should continue following the entry-specific instructions currently in effect, including any applicable temporary collection procedures.
Is the Countervailing Duty Order Now Guaranteed to Continue?
No. Commerce made an affirmative determination regarding the likely continuation or recurrence of subsidization, but the ITC must separately determine whether revocation would likely lead to continued or recurring material injury. The order generally continues only if the required affirmative findings are made through the complete sunset review process.
Does the Temporary Collection Suspension Cancel the Order?
No. The temporary suspension changes collection treatment for qualifying entries during the authorized period. It does not revoke the countervailing duty order, eliminate the sunset review, or establish a permanent zero rate. Importers should verify eligibility for the temporary procedures and prepare for the possibility that ordinary CVD collection will resume.
Can Countervailing Duties Be Recovered Through Duty Drawback?
No. Countervailing duties and antidumping duties are not eligible for drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1677h. Ordinary customs duties paid on the same entries may still qualify if the merchandise is exported, destroyed, or used in qualifying production and all applicable drawback requirements are met.
What Should Importers Monitor Next?
Importers should monitor the ITC review, changes to temporary collection procedures, updated cash deposit instructions, liquidation activity, and any administrative or judicial developments affecting company-specific rates. Internal forecasts should distinguish immediate cash requirements from contingent exposure after the temporary suspension ends.
How Should Customs Brokers Handle the Sunset Rate?
Customs brokers should not enter the 20.04 percent sunset rate into production filing systems unless an applicable government instruction expressly requires it. The rate should instead be tracked as a sunset review finding while operational filing logic continues to follow current entry and cash deposit instructions.
How Stable Software Can Help
Strengthening Drawback Calculations and Broker Control
Moroccan phosphate fertilizer entries illustrate why drawback systems must distinguish ordinary customs duties from ineligible antidumping and countervailing duties. Stable Software's DrawbackAI enables U.S. customs brokers to white-label duty drawback software for importer clients and file claims under the broker's own filer code.
Stable Software charges a flat software license and never takes a percentage of the refund. This model allows brokers to retain control of the client relationship while supporting consistent drawback calculations across complex entry data. Brokers evaluating ordinary duty recovery on fertilizer imports can use a structured platform to keep potential drawback amounts separate from nonrefundable CVD and AD amounts.
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