Lobbying Blitz Pushed Fertilizer Prices Higher, Fueling Food Inflation One of the largest U.S. fertilizer producers lobbied the Trump administration to restrict foreign competition by imposing tariffs that are now contributing to inflation and the global food crisis, previously unreported emails and meeting notes show. Just months into Donald Trump’s presidency in 2017, the Mosaic Co. retained Ballard Partners, whose founder was a key fundraiser for the Trump campaign, to push tariffs on fertilizer imports. With Ballard’s help, Mosaic executives secured high-level meetings with White House trade officials to discuss what they claimed were unfair subsidies for foreign importers, according to emails obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog. The yearslong lobbying campaign resulted in the Trump administration recommending tariffs in 2020 that went into effect last year on phosphate fertilizer from Russia and Morocco, the first- and fourth-largest fertilizer exporters in the world, respectively. As foreign imports plummeted, Mosaic gained control of 90 percent of the U.S. phosphate fertilizer market. Disclosures show that Mosaic has paid Ballard $1.49 million in lobbying fees. The firm remains on the company payroll.
Corruption rules!!!! Trumps policy was bad and his admin balls to the wall corrupt, but surely the Ukraine war and sanctions against Russia are a much bigger impact on inflation in this space? Tin foil hat guy might even fire up some brain neurons and think the war was not a coincidence! Either way, with foreign imports cut off, if ONE supplier has 90% of the domestic market that seems like a pretty standard anti-trust case that must be pursued by THIS administration.
The Trump tax cuts were subsidized by trade tariffs, paid for by American consumers. Yeah, he really put the screws to those foreign adversaries.... Biden has been in office for two years. Why hasn't he rolled back the tariffs??
Why am I not surprised? Although Democratic politicians are far from clean when it comes to being bought and paid for the Republican Party is the best political party that money can buy. Somewhat off-topic another example is the pharmaceutical industry. Americans paying the highest prices for drugs compared with residents any other advanced industrial country and the pharmaceutical industry at or near the top among special interests when it comes to campaign contributions and expenditures for lobbying. You think there may be a link between drug prices and the lobbying/campaign contributions?
Many years, big pharma spends more on lobbying than on R&D, but they always tell us we have to pay the high prices to fund their R&D.
The reason for the tariffs, according to the article, is that there were unfair subsidies of foreign fertilizer. If that is true, there is a reason for the tariffs. If that is not true, then the tariffs should be removed.
If it is true, and the US imposed tariffs and either intentionally or as an unintended consequence created a domestic monopoly, then price controls should be put in place on the monopolistic entity so long as the tariffs remain on the foreign entities.
I am not against tariffs for the most part, they have their place. However, everyone needs to eat at some point and the cost to do so is directly impacted by fertilizer prices. These costs have a big impact on the bottom 99 percenters.
and regulatory pressure brought to bear to clean up the phosphate stacks in Florida that companies like Mosaic surely had a hand in. one has already collapsed into Tampa Bay and the environment was devastated by it. The red tide continues to exceed normal levels as it chews through nutrients released from that spill that never should have happened.
I used to sell equipment to the Phosphate industry back in the 60's when it was king in Lakeland, Bartow and Mulberry. There were a lot of different companies involved, at least 6, but the largest was IMC, from which Mosaic was formed. I think they did a pretty decent job of clean up after the Phosphate was depleted, because it was strip mining at its best until then. They are based now out of Tampa, but I am not sure much mining is still going on in the state. Everybody lobbies for their industry, so maybe they needed protection from foreign producers, I can't judge it and doubt you can either. One thing we all know is that there may still be plenty of phosphate in Florida, but most is now underneath developments, or the land is too expensive to get to it.
Nope, large phosphate mines still at work in Florida. the bolded part is the problem. DeSantis would rather fight wokism than address these potential bombs for the environment Phosphate | Florida Department of Environmental Protection Where is phosphate mined in Florida? Phosphate mining began in Florida in 1883 near Hawthorne in Alachua County. This hard-rock phosphate was mined in a region extending from Alachua to Citrus counties. The mining of pebble phosphate began in 1888 in central Florida and in the 1960s in Hamilton County. Today phosphate mining occurs primarily in the central Florida area (Polk, Hillsborough, Manatee and Hardee counties). The central Florida phosphate mining region covers approximately 1.3 million acres of land known as the “Bone Valley.” There is one phosphate mine operating in North Florida (Hamilton County). Click for full-page map of Phosphate Mine Boundaries. .................. The phosphate is sent by rail to a separate chemical processing plant where it is processed for use in fertilizer and other products. The chemical processing is done at separate facilities that are not regulated by the Mining and Mitigation Program. After going through beneficiation, the clay is pumped through pipelines into large impoundment areas, known as clay settling areas, where they will remain. The sand is pumped through pipelines back to the mined area and is used in reclamation.
No reason to throw DeSantis under the bus on this, the rules for the industry probably hasn't changed much for the last 75 years. They were also here way before much of our population was and an important state industry. Whether a Democrat or Republican, Governor or Legislature, no one has wanted it to change, and it hasn't been a major polluter to our environment.
Agreed, and each Governor has a chance to lead. The collapse and resulting environmental damage gave him the perfect platform to lead. Someone will, one day, and I will applaud their leadership. I just wonder how many millions of gallons of slurry will spill before it happens. Same for failure to address ag and cattle water quality. Talks nice, spends lots, not addressing the cause, just treating the symptoms
By and large Florida has controlled their industries fairly well. Most are not environmental problems and over regulation generally results in them disappearing. No need to fix something that isn't really broken, just to prove you care about the environment.
All except the biggest ones that do the most damage and have the best lobbyists, like sugar and ranching
I think you meant to say that industries control Florida. Kinda like the Invite-Only lounge that FPL has in Tallahassee for lawmakers
You think our water quality isnt broken? Seriously? Look at the beach closures in SW Florida, come take a ride on the water with me, bring your nose plugs.
Is there a metric that could be provided that would prove that maybe "Florida has controlled their industries fairly well" isn't true? Massive red tide blooms driven by human activity? Species loss?
