EU plans to suspend import tariffs on nitrogen fertilizers such as ammonia and urea for one year, excluding supplies from Russia and Belarus.

The European Commission recently released a proposal, planning to suspend for one year the import tariffs on ammonia, urea, ammonium sulfate, calcium ammonium nitrate, and most NPK compound fertilizers through a quota system, in order to alleviate the cost pressures brought by the full implementation of the CBAM carbon border tax.

The tariff exemption quota is based on the 2024 most-favored-nation import volume, with an additional 20% of the 2024 import volume from Russia and Belarus. The biggest beneficiaries will be ammonia suppliers from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, and others. Products from these countries currently face a 5.5% ad valorem tariff.

Russia and Belarus are explicitly excluded from the tariff reduction, with their ammonia and urea still subject to import tariffs of 5.5% and 6.5%, respectively. The European Commission pointed out that the EU is a structural net importer of nitrogen fertilizers, with highly concentrated supply, and Russia is one of the main source countries.

According to Eurostat data, in 2024, the EU imported 2.08 million tons of ammonia from outside the bloc, with Russia accounting for over 25%; it imported 5.98 million tons of urea, with Russia accounting for approximately 29%.

The draft does not specify a detailed implementation timeline, but based on fiscal impact assessments, it is proposed to suspend tariffs for one year starting from May 1, 2026.