Trump says Belarus potash deal in works amid Canada fight

President Donald Trump said the US is working with Belarus to secure more supplies of potash amid a trade fight with Canada, a major supplier of the critical ingredient used in fertilizers.

“The United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of Potash from Belarus,” Trump said in a social media post Monday. “The pricing would be for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our Farmers and Ranchers.”

Trump’s comments come amid an escalating trade war with Canada that has seen the two countries impose tit-for-tat tariffs on imports. Trump’s levies, however, don’t apply to some of the most significant natural resources the US buys from Canada, such as oil, potash and critical minerals — an indication of their importance to the US economy.

Canada is one of the world’s largest exporters of potash and any move to restrict those supplies flowing to the US could have a major impact on the American agricultural sector.

The world’s largest reserves of potash, which is mined, are located in Saskatchewan. Shares of Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien Ltd. dropped as much as 5.2%, while Tampa-based Mosaic Co. fell 5.9% intraday before paring losses. The two companies dominate North American potash production via their joint venture Canpotex.

Trump has sought to rebuild ties with Belarus and its authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US is pushing Ukraine to ease restrictions on imports of potash fertilizers from Belarus and has urged Kyiv to encourage other European allies to do the same.

Potash was a major source of foreign-currency revenue for Belarus before western sanctions over the government’s political repression and its help for Moscow in the war on Ukraine. The US lifted some of its own restrictions on fertilizer from Belarus earlier this year as part of a deal that saw Lukashenko’s regime release hundreds of political prisoners.

Belarus, prior to US trade restrictions, shipped over 700,000 tons of potassium fertilizers to the US in 2021. That’s a fraction of the roughly 13 million tons that the US imported in 2025, with nearly 90% coming from Canada, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Whether Trump will be able to tap additional supplies is unclear. Belarus doesn’t have enough capacity to supply large volumes to the US, because production for the year is already under contract, Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing Lukashenko. The transport of Belarusian fertilizers has also faced logistical hurdles in recent years, after Lithuania’s rail system ended its contract with state-run Belaruskali OAO in 2022.

US farmers and ranchers, key constituencies for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm elections, are under strain from high costs for diesel, fertilizer and other inputs, as well as disruptions in export markets as the Iran war and Trump’s tariff policies squeeze supply chains. New Orleans potash spot prices are at their highest levels since July 2023, according to Bloomberg Green Markets.

Trump has taken steps to help ease the burden on those groups, with polls showing voters largely disapprove of his party’s handling of the economy and the war.

(By Jeff Mason and Ilena Peng)