The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a temporary cut to fertiliser tariffs in a bid to calm mounting anger among farmers, days before a crunch decision on the Mercosur trade deal.
The proposal was presented during a meeting of agriculture ministers from the 27 EU member states, where the Commission also discussed the growing pressures facing farmers. In Brussels, the move is seen as an attempt to ease immediate tensions with the sector ahead of a decision that risks triggering fresh unrest across rural Europe.
The plan would temporarily suspend standard EU tariffs on fertilisers such as ammonium and urea, key inputs for European agriculture. According to figures cited by the Commission, fertiliser prices remain around 60% higher than in 2020, an increase that has sharply cut into farmers’ incomes.
The Commission says the aim is to reduce import prices and make sure savings reach farmers. To that end, Brussels has proposed safeguards designed to stop middlemen from keeping the savings for themselves. “Keeping fertilisers affordable is vital for farmers’ incomes and for Europe’s food security,” the Agriculture Commissioner said.
Among farmers, however, few believe the move amounts to more than temporary relief. The underlying cost pressures remain unresolved.
Fertilisers as a political weapon
Since the war in Ukraine began, fertilisers have increasingly become a political bargaining chip. The recurring threat of new sanctions on Russian and Belarusian fertilisers has injected deep uncertainty into the market.
Industry estimates suggest that further restrictions would raise the EU’s annual fertiliser bill by around €4 billion, driving up production costs and, ultimately, food prices. Even now, prices in Europe remain far above pre-war levels, with key products such as urea costing roughly twice as much as in 2020. Many farmers are already using less fertiliser, risking lower yields and smaller harvests.
These pressures are made worse by an increasingly tight web of EU rules. Measures such as the Nitrates Directive add further costs and leave farms with fewer options, even as agricultural products from third countries continue to enter the EU market without being subject to comparable requirements.
Mercosur on the horizon
It is in this context that the suspension of tariffs must also be read as a political signal. The Mercosur agreement, whose ratification is drawing closer, is likely to become a new point of conflict between Brussels and the farming community.
The Commission knows it has little room left to manoeuvre. It is therefore trying to signal support for farmers before a decision that could reignite mass protests in several member states.
The temporary suspension of tariffs may ease immediate pressure, but it does not fix the deeper problems in Europe’s farm and trade policy. Rather than strengthening its own productive capacity, the EU has restricted external supply while entrenching markets that favour a handful of large industrial players.
European farmers remain trapped between rising costs, uneven regulatory demands, and a trade agenda that once again appears willing to sacrifice the countryside in the name of geopolitical priorities. The relief announced this week may buy time in Brussels, but it is unlikely to calm an anger that runs far deeper.
