Trump promotes 'massive' Belarus potash deal to undercut Canada

US President Donald Trump announced a massive deal to purchase fertilizer from Belarus, aiming to undercut Canada's supply, according to a social media post. Despite Minsk's history of repression of dissidents and backing Russia's war in Ukraine, Trump claimed that the cost of Belarusian potash would be substantially less than the current price paid to Canada, a US neighbor embroiled in a trade war.

Potash, a potassium-rich salt primarily used for fertilizer, is crucial for crop growth and yield improvement. Canada currently supplies a significant portion of the potash utilized by American farmers. Belarus is among the world's largest producers of potash, but the European Union prohibits imports of Belarusian potash and has frozen assets of the state producer Belaruskali.

This announcement follows a series of deals between Washington and Minsk. US envoy John Coale has been leading talks, resulting in President Alexander Lukashenko pardoning numerous political prisoners in exchange for easing US sanctions on Belarusian firms, including its potash industry. However, Belarus remains an ally of Russia and allowed Moscow to utilize its territory as a staging ground for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and participated in recent joint nuclear drills.