Guest columnist Rodney Weinzierl: Harmful tariffs driving up the cost of food

One of the key industries in the Illinois economy, agriculture, is being threatened by unnecessary tariffs on fertilizer imports and it's driving up the cost of food. As inflation hits a new 40-year high and Illinois families feel the impact at the grocery store, it's time for these tariffs to go.

Illinois is known and respected worldwide as a significant producer of agricultural products. About 75 percent of the state's total land area is devoted to farms, growing commodities that contribute $19 billion to the state economy. Illinois agriculture employs nearly 1 million people, doing work that puts meals on American tables and helps keep grocery prices down.

Much of the Illinois ag sector's productivity depends on fertilizers. But the cost of that key agricultural component is skyrocketing out of control. Several variables contribute to rising fertilizer prices but one that is completely controllable is the cost added by taxes imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

In recent years, the ITC took up a request from the Mosaic Company, the dominant U.S. phosphate producer, to impose a countervailing duty on imported phosphate fertilizer from Morocco. This tax on imports makes them more expensive and further consolidates Mosaic's market share. It's an unfortunate example of business using government policy levers to unfairly benefit one company over another.

Additionally, CF Industries, a major manufacturer of nitrogen fertilizers, asked the ITC to impose duties on urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer products from Trinidad and Tobago. The ITC's preliminary decision was in CF Industries' favor, and the government has begun collecting preliminary cash deposits on those imports, essentially enforcing the planned tariff before it is in place. Unsurprisingly, the ITC's actions have caused the price of urea ammonium nitrate benchmark product anhydrous ammonia to increase by well over 200%.

As the Biden administration scrambles for ways to rein in rapidly rising consumer costs for food and other essentials, you would think repealing these tariffs would be at the top of the list.

A number of U.S. House members and senators certainly think it's a good idea. More than 80 of them recently sent a letter to the ITC, pointing out that reversing these tariffs would be an immediate way to at least partially remedy the high cost of fertilizer for farmers and, in turn, the retail cost of the food those farmers provide. Several representatives from Illinois signed the letter, including Rep. Cheri Bustos.

These tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. consumers; they artificially increase the costs of imports to protect domestic businesses from lower cost competition. Morocco and Trinidad and Tobago are longtime U.S. allies and valued trading partners. There is no legitimate reason to punish them with tariffs that, in the long run, hurt American farmers and families. Let's hope all members of Illinois' congressional delegation stand up for our state's agricultural community by speaking out against the tariffs.

• Rodney Weinzierl is executive director of the Illinois Corn Growers Association