The Trump administration authorized Venezuela to sell fertilizers and other petrochemicals to US companies, further loosening sanctions just as the Iran war tightens global supplies of critical crop nutrients.

The new measure, disclosed Friday in Treasury Department documents, expands a US effort to gradually reintegrate Venezuela into the global energy market. The White House aims to stimulate the South American nation’s economy after US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in January.

The move comes as US farmers rush to secure fertilizers in the peak spring planting season, especially ammonia and urea that Venezuela once exported in abundance. The escalating conflict in the Middle East is disrupting supplies that normally flow through the Strait of Hormuz. New Orleans prices for urea, which is widely applied to US corn fields, are up 28% since the war on Iran started through Friday, according to Bloomberg Green Markets. The US imports over a third of its urea from the Middle East, according to The Fertilizer Institute.

By authorizing the sale of Venezuelan fertilizers to US companies, the Trump administration is sending a supply signal to an industry that impacts food prices at a time of inflationary pressures caused by the war-driven oil price spike. The license still requires companies to seek a separate authorization from Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-13/us-authorizes-venezuela-to-sell-fertilizers-as-war-crimps-supply