By CHAD BRAYMAY 23, 2016

LONDON — The American fertilizer maker CF Industries said on Monday that it had called off an $8 billion deal to acquire several European and North American operations from OCI of the Netherlands because of a crackdown by the United States on so-called tax inversions.

Inversions have gained popularity in recent years as American companies look to lower their corporate tax rates and more easily use income that has been held in foreign subsidiaries. But those deals have faced resistance from the United States government.

In April, the Treasury Department, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service, announced a series of new rules meant to further curtail the practice. The first deal to fall victim to those new rules was Pfizer's $152 billion merger with Allergan.

CF Industries and OCI said on Monday that the new rules reduced the benefits of their proposed transaction, and that they were unable to restructure it in a way that would be attractive to their shareholders. More...