White House says US seeking fertiliser from Venezuela, Morocco
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White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the US was setting up “an insurance policy against disruption”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is seeking other sources of fertiliser amid the ongoing Iran war’s shipping constraints, including from Venezuela and possibly Morocco, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on March 17.
“We’ve... established licenses for Venezuela to produce more fertiliser. We’ve had discussions with Morocco,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” programme, calling it “an insurance policy against disruption” for US farmers.
“I’m not saying that we can eliminate what disruption there is so far, but we can minimise it,” Mr Hassett told CNBC in the interview.
Fertiliser supplies have shrunk as the US-Israeli war against Iran cut off critical nitrogen fertiliser supplies from the Gulf to the world’s farmers, sending prices spiking by more than one-third in recent weeks.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has floated the idea of replicating a UN-brokered deal that got grain out of Ukraine during wartime. It allows Ukraine to export grain, foodstuffs and fertilisers through the Black Sea, without civilian vessels coming under attack by Russia.
She said she had spoken to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the idea and the UN was “working on this”. REUTERS
