Countervailing duties (CVDs) are a trade policy instrument by which importing governments tax imports that are found to benefit from foreign subsidies. Thus, in effect, CVDs attempt to remedy market distortions generated by foreign subsidies by further distorting market mechanisms. On March 11, 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued CVDs ranging between 19.97%-47.05% on Moroccan phosphate imports upon finding that Moroccan exports had been receiving unfair government subsidies. This research estimates the impacts of these duties on U.S. diammonium phosphate (DAP) and triple superphosphate (TSP) fertilizers, as well as long-run downstream prices of five U.S. row crops with the largest phosphate usage (i.e., corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and sorghum).

Local agricultural cooperatives can form grain marketing alliances to combine the marketing activities of multiple cooperatives. CoMark Equity Alliance (CEA) was formed with the goal of enhancing the profitability of its members by providing expert grain merchandising and logistics as well as risk management and accounting services. This research uses difference-in-difference models to show that in Oklahoma hard red winter wheat basis and joining the grain alliance are unrelated. It also estimates the economic benefit of CEA membership by comparing the net returns per bushel to cooperatives in CEA with non-member cooperatives in Oklahoma.