The Trump administration is seeking other sources of fertilizer amid the ongoing Iran war's shipping constraints, including from Venezuela and possibly Morocco, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Tuesday.
Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
The Trump administration is seeking other sources of fertilizer amid the ongoing Iran war's shipping constraints, including from Venezuela and possibly Morocco, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Tuesday.
"We've ... established licenses for Venezuela to produce more fertilizer. We've had discussions with Morocco," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" program, calling it "an insurance policy against disruption" for U.S. farmers.
"I'm not saying that we can eliminate what disruption there is so far, but we can minimize it," Hassett told CNBC in the interview.
Fertilizer supplies have shrunk as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran cut off critical nitrogen fertilizer 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 U.N.-brokered deal that got grain out of Ukraine during wartime. It allows Ukraine to export grain, foodstuffs and fertilizers through the Black Sea, without civilian vessels coming under attack by Russia. She said she had spoken to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the idea and the U.N. was "working on this".
Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Susan Heavey
Britain's armed services minister Al Carns has praised Ukraine's drone technology as among the best in the world, suggesting Kyiv could play a meaningful role in international efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid an ongoing Iranian blockade.
A senior Iranian source said on Saturday the U.S. had agreed to release Iranian frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, welcoming the move as a sign of "seriousness" in reaching a deal with Washington in talks in Islamabad.
U.S. intelligence indicates China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, CNN reported late on Friday, citing three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.
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