The European Commission is proposing to temporarily scrap the customs tariffs on imported goods used to produce fertiliser.
The move, which will now be discussed by member states in the EU council, would see customs tariffs on inputs used to make nitrogen (N) fertiliser suspended until the end of 2024.
The commission explained that the proposal aims to help alleviate costs for EU farmers and fertiliser producers.
The EU market for certain nitrogen fertiliser inputs heavily relies on imports from third countries, with Russia being the second largest supplier.
In 2021, the EU imported 2.9 million tonnes of ammonia and 4.7 million tonnes of urea for the production of nitrogen fertilisers.
The cost of those products, which increased in the course of 2021, has risen further this year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The commission stated that this has had a profound negative impact on the production of nitrogen-based fertilisers in the EU.
In addition to lowering costs for EU producers and farmers, the proposal seeks to increase the stability and diversification of supply by growing imports from a wider range of third countries.
Russia and Belarus will be excluded from the suspension of tariffs.
The commission outlined that at a time of scarcity on the international markets of nitrogen fertilisers, the existence of tariffs is acting as a disincentive to the supply of the EU market.
It added that the proposed measure is focused on nitrogen-based fertilisers as it is the most widely used in the EU and is the type which has most increased in price since 2021.