Representative Scott Franklin and seven other members of Florida's congressional delegation sent a letter Wednesday to President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting coordinated federal action on sulfur supply disruption.
According to Franklin's office and NAFB coverage published September 11, Tampa sulfur prices previously averaged about 172 dollars per long ton over a ten-year window but have exceeded 1,100 dollars per metric ton since May.
The letter states that producing affordable domestic phosphate fertilizer is increasingly difficult at current sulfur costs and that domestic phosphate producers have been forced to reduce operating rates.
Franklin's office said some facilities have been idled and American workers face layoffs because of sulfur availability and cost constraints.
Lawmakers suggested voluntary coordination with domestic refiners and sulfur marketers, transportation and storage solutions, trade and financing tools, and engagement with allied suppliers.
The letter noted the administration has convened an interagency process to examine the problem and asked for continued engagement at the highest levels.
Potential options mentioned include authorities under the Defense Production Act, targeted measures that account for impacts on energy markets and other domestic sulfur users, and a designated point of contact with Congress.
Sulfur is a critical input in wet-process phosphoric acid production, and Florida's phosphate complex is the largest US consumer geography for molten sulfur delivered under Tampa quarterly contracts.
For Alberta recovered sulfur producers, the Florida letter reinforces that US Gulf and Tampa demand remains structurally tight even as Pacific export nominations to Asia continue.
Canada has long supplied the majority of US elemental sulfur imports in USGS source tables, including molten rail movements into US industrial and fertilizer consumers.
Mosaic settled Q3 molten sulfur at 705 dollars per long ton, the last public Tampa contract figure filed on the Sulfur Wire desk, well below current spot levels cited in the congressional correspondence.
The gap between the quarterly Tampa contract and spot costs above 1,100 dollars per metric ton is the affordability problem the delegation is asking Washington to address.
Desk read: policy pressure on Tampa sulfur is a demand-side signal for Alberta tonnes. Whether relief comes from refiner coordination, allied imports, or logistics fixes, North American recovered sulfur remains the closest large-scale supply to Florida phosphate.