When people think about threats to their food supply, they picture drought and disease impacting crops and livestock. Few think about sulfur and geopolitics. However, this unassuming yellow element is an essential ingredient in the phosphate fertilizer that every farmer in the country depends on. It has quietly become the latest front in China’s campaign to weaponize global trade against American interests.Most Americans do not know that North America has plenty of sulfur. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States produces roughly 70% of its demand domestically, with neighbors Canada and Mexico easily filling the rest. On paper, America’s fertilizer supply chain should be secure. In practice, it is not, because domestic suppliers are shipping our sulfur straight to the countries trying to undermine us.The USGS reports that U.S. sulfur exports run between 1.8 and 2 million metric tons annually, roughly a quarter of domestic production. Automated Identification System data pegs 2026 North American exports year-to-date at more than 2 million metric tons already. And where is most of it going? According to OEC trade data, the single largest recipient of American sulfur is China.