Donald Trump has said the US is working on a “massive” deal to buy cheaper potash from Belarus, as Washington pursues a thaw with Minsk while relations with Canada, its main potash supplier and NATO ally, continue to fray. Potash is a potassium-rich salt used primarily in fertilizer to improve crop quality and increase yields. Canada supplies about 80% of the potash used in the US, making American farmers heavily dependent on their northern neighbor. Trump said on Monday that Washington was negotiating a large-scale agreement to purchase Belarusian potash at prices well below what the US currently pays for supplies from Canada. “The United States is working on a massive deal with respect to the purchase of potash from Belarus,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social media platform. “The pricing would be for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our farmers and ranchers,” he added. Belarus is one of the world’s largest potash producers. Courting Minsk Trump’s announcement comes as his administration seeks a rapprochement with the authoritarian government of Alexander Lukashenko, which has long been isolated by the West over its repression of political opponents and support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Trump administration has been gradually restoring ties with Belarus through negotiations led by US envoy John Coale, offering sanctions relief in return for the release of political prisoners. Washington lifted restrictions on the Belarusian potash industry in March after Minsk released 250 prisoners as part of a US-brokered deal. Belarus freed 25 more prisoners last Wednesday after the US eased sanctions on two state-owned companies. Coale said hundreds more detainees could be released within a month. Polish journalist and minority-rights activist Andrzej Poczobut, who spent more than five years behind bars, was among those released in an earlier US-facilitated exchange. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He allowed Belarusian territory to be used as a staging ground for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and later agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons. Allies drift apart The US outreach to Belarus stands in sharp contrast to Washington’s deteriorating relationship with Canada. Ties between the NATO allies have frayed amid a prolonged trade dispute, with the US imposing tariffs on Canadian imports and Ottawa responding with measures of its own. The tensions deepened further after Canada said it is seeking closer economic and security ties with Europe. Trump recently threatened action against the EU over a proposal to offer Canada a form of associate membership in the 27-nation bloc. The EU, meanwhile, continues to restrict imports of Belarusian potash and has frozen the assets of state producer Belaruskali. The measures were introduced over Minsk’s domestic repression and later expanded after Belarus helped Russia launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
'Very good news for our farmers and ranchers,' Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the deal in the offing. (PAP/EPA)
