USDA data show Canada supplied 80 percent of US potash imports in 2024
The Belarusian government said Monday it does not have the potash volumes President Donald Trump claimed the United States is in talks to purchase, seemingly refuting an announcement Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, whom UPI described as often called Europe’s last dictator, whose office issued a readout of his comments, said “even if we wanted to supply [potash] to other, Western markets, we simply do not have those volumes — everything is contracted for this year.”
Trump had written on Truth Social that “the United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of Potash from Belarus” and that the pricing would be “for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our Farmers and Ranchers.”
The exchange unfolds against the backdrop of a trade war between the Trump administration and Canada, by far the largest supplier of potash to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States imports nearly all of its potash, with 80 percent coming from Canada in 2024, 16 percent from Russia, and 4 percent from other nations including Israel and Germany.
Relations between Washington and Ottawa have soured during Trump’s second term. Trump and members of his Cabinet have thrown insults at Canada, threatened to annex it and make it the 51st state, and ignited a trade war by repeatedly threatening and imposing tariffs on Canadian imports. Trade talks aimed at preventing the imposition of U.S. tariffs were abruptly called off in late August after last-minute U.S. demands that Ottawa said it could not accept, including those that would degrade Canada’s sovereignty and protections for its French culture and language.
In response, Canada has turned to Europe for stable economic and security relations. Two provincial leaders on Monday criticized any potential Belarusian deal.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said in a statement: “Every day Trump attacks another Canadian industry. Today, he’s targeting Canadian potash, which comes primarily from Saskatchewan and ships out of B.C. ports.” Trump, Eby said, is “trying to use trade with dictators in Eastern Europe to hurt Canadian workers.”
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, whose province is the largest producer of potash, said buying potash from Belarus would directly support Russia and its war in Ukraine. “It’s wrong and it doesn’t make sense,” he said in an online statement. “Does anyone believe Belarusian blood potash shipped through Russia is going to be more affordable, more sustainable or more ethical than potash shipped from Saskatchewan — right here in North America?”
The announcement comes amid a thawing of Washington-Minsk relations. In March, Belarus released 250 political prisoners in a U.S.-brokered deal that saw the easing of sanctions, including those targeting Belarusian potash producers. Last week, Belarus agreed to release another 25 political prisoners under an agreement in which the Trump administration lifted sanctions on two Belarusian entities.
Dozens of nations have sanctions against Belarus, including restrictions on its potash. The United States removed sanctions from Belarusian potash producers in March.
The statement leaves uncertain whether a deal materializes. Lukashenko’s office characterized Belarus’s existing potash contracts as fully booked for the year, a position that, if accurate, would preclude the large-volume purchase Trump described on Truth Social.