The Council of the EU has agreed to suspend customs tariffs for one year on certain nitrogen-based fertilisers used in EU agriculture, including inputs such as urea and ammonia.
The suspension is expected to save EU farmers and the fertiliser industry about €60 million in import duties, according to the European Commission, the Council said in a release on Friday.
It will apply only to products that are not already imported duty-free under preferential arrangements linked to “most favoured nation” tariffs — standard World Trade Organization rates granted equally to trading partners.
The duty-free volumes will be capped by a quota set at the EU’s 2024 imports under those standard tariff rates, plus 20% of the volumes imported from Russia and Belarus in 2024.
The Council noted the suspension will not apply to fertilisers imported from Russia, citing Russia’s war against Ukraine, and will also not apply to imports from Belarus.
What happens next
The measure will take effect the day after it is published in the EU’s official journal and will run for one year, the Council said.
The Commission is expected to monitor the fertiliser market and may propose extending or changing the suspension if needed.
EU imports in 2024 included 2 million tonnes of ammonia and 5.9 million tonnes of urea, as well as 6.7 million tonnes of nitrogen-based fertilisers and nitrogen-containing mixtures.
