The Michigan Senate on Tuesday (May 17) passed a resolution sponsored by Senator Curt VanderWall urging Congress to pass legislation that would allow farmers to apply for a temporary waiver of tariffs on fertilizer imports from from Morocco.
“Fertilizer prices in the United States are now at an all-time high. In some cases, they have more than tripled. This is a very serious problem; these prices are not sustainable,” said Curt VanderWall.
“We have heard from farmers who are considering not fertilizing or not planting at all this year due to the exorbitant cost of fertilizer. We cannot stress enough how important our farmers are to the food chain, to the future of Michigan and America. When farmers face rising costs, people end up spending more on food. Given current price levels, inaction is not an option. This resolution not only supports our farmers, but ultimately the people of Michigan,” the senator argued.
The Senate resolution (SR 139) states that “Michigan’s agricultural industry is of vital importance to the economy of the State. As the second most diverse agricultural system in our nation, it brings in more than $104.7 billion to the state each year. More than 800,000 people work in Michigan’s agriculture industry and tend nearly 11 million acres of land.
Copies of resolution SR 139 have been sent to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and members of the Michigan congressional delegation, the Michigan Senate concludes.
86 members of the US Congress call for the cancellation of the duties imposed on Moroccan fertilizers
