OCP North America has filed an individual declaration with the United States Department of Justice for its director of public affairs for the United States, Scott Kuschmider, under foreign representation laws. The filing enters the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) registry under dossier number 6873, containing two individual entries dated October 5. The move organizes the Moroccan fertilizer group’s representation in the United States as trade policy and tariffs on phosphate imports remain a major commercial issue.
Mr. Kuschmider joined OCP North America in August 2026 to manage government relations, trade policy questions, American market access, and regulatory matters tied to agricultural inputs. His federal registration follows his appointment to the role. Before joining the company, he held institutional relations and public affairs positions at Atticus, Bayer, and Monsanto. He also spent ten years working with three members of the U.S. Congress, including four years with the House Committee on Agriculture.
Temporary Tariff Relief and Market Stakes
The registration unfolds against a shifting trade backdrop for phosphate fertilizers. Since 2021, Moroccan phosphate imports have faced U.S. countervailing duties designed to offset government subsidies. On June 29, 2026, Donald Trump declared a national emergency regarding fertilizer supply and issued Proclamation 11038 to permit the importation of Moroccan phosphate fertilizers free of those duties and cash deposits for up to eight months.
In the proclamation, President Trump cited domestic phosphate production as insufficient to meet national agricultural needs, noting that American farmers apply more than half of their annual consumption between autumn and early spring. Brooke Rollins projected that the measure could lower phosphate fertilizer prices by up to 22 percent, generating an estimated $1.82 billion in annual savings for agricultural producers. Meanwhile, parallel five-year sunset reviews on Moroccan and Russian fertilizers continue, with the U.S. Department of Commerce issuing preliminary findings on July 24, 2026, pointing to a 20.04 percent subsidy rate for OCP.
Prior Lobbying Expenditures and Institutional Outreach
Before Mr. Kuschmider’s appointment, OCP North America relied on outside counsel to manage Washington outreach. A semiannual disclosure filed on June 14, 2026, shows that the company paid $300,318 to the firm Cornerstone Government Affairs for lobbying and consulting services between November 2025 and April 2026. That disclosure listed six payments, including five individual disbursements of $50,000 each.
Those filings detail extensive contact between the Moroccan subsidiary and federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the White House National Security Council, and congressional committees. Discussions centered on countervailing duties, administrative reviews, federal fertilizer programs, and the role of phosphates in U.S. critical raw material supply chains. OCP North America has maintained an active FARA registration since October 7, 2020, which was updated in January 2026 to incorporate another group entity, OCP Nutricrops.
USITC Review Timeline and Next Decisions
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) manages the ongoing investigation into fertilizer duties alongside the Department of Commerce. The trade agency is scheduled to receive investigative reports from its staff on March 15, 2027. Following that report, the commission will hold a hearing with interested parties on April 1, 2027, before making a final determination on whether to maintain the countervailing duties.
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