The European Commission has proposed to suspend certain tariffs on fertiliser imports for one year in an attempt to cut costs for EU farmers.

The measure will remove most favoured nation (MFN) duties on imports of key nitrogen fertilisers as well as material for their production such as ammonia and urea, through duty-free tariff rate quotas.

The tariff suspension will be implemented for all countries, except Russia and Belarus.  

The measure is intended to strengthen the EU's agri-food sector, lowering costs for farmers and the fertiliser industry by saving an estimated €60 million in import duties, according to a statement from the commission.

"It will also facilitate the reduction of the EU's dependency on Russia and Belarus and support diversification of supply, where imports are still needed for the EU agricultural sector and the fertiliser industry," the statement said.

This is intended to help ensure the EU's food security and sovereignty, according to the commission.

A MFN tariff is the equal and standard duty rate that World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries must apply to imports from other member nations.

By eliminating MFN tariffs and by opening new opportunities via trade agreements, the commission's "main aim is to support competitive, EU agri-food and fertilisers sectors, while searching for new and reliable suppliers", the statement said.

Rising costs

"The proposed measure is carefully calibrated to the needs of the EU market, through the establishment of a quota system," the statement said.

Imports beyond these quotas will be subject to standard MFN duties.  

This initiative is part of the commission’s "commitment to address rising costs faced by EU farmers", and is a "component of the commission's work" to address the high cost of fertilisers for EU farmers.

In December 2025, the commission proposed EU-level action focused on fertilisers.

An exception to the standard calculation rules was proposed, to reduce the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on fertilisers, "making them the only commodity to benefit from such an exception (use of a 1% markup instead of 10% with a progressive increase to 30% for all other sectors)," the statement said.

'Keeping fertilisers affordable'

The statement added that today's announcement is "delivering on its commitment" made at an extraordinary meeting of EU ministers for agriculture in Brussels on January 7.

Following that meeting, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told a press conference: "Keeping fertilisers affordable is vital for farmers incomes and Europe's food security, which requires both diversifying supply sources and reinforcing our own production capacity.

"While prices have stabilised, fertiliser costs remain around 60% higher than in 2020 and that is simply not sustainable.

“I can assure that farmers' concerns are not an afterthought in our trade policy - they are central," the commissioner added.