US President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that the US will keep buying Canadian potash, walking back the leverage play he’d floated against Canada just a day earlier.
A reporter raised the Belarus proposal while Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the UN General Assembly Tuesday. “We’ll continue to go with Canada,” Trump replied, though he noted Belarus was offering a cheaper price.
Belarus has not confirmed Trump’s Tuesday claim, but President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday that they “simply do not have those volumes — everything is contracted,” short of saying there isn’t any deal or offer in the works.
Sponsored · Selkirk Copper Mines
Read: Why Potash Has Never Been Part Of Trump’s Canada Tariffs
Prime Minister Mark Carney fielded the same question separately, describing Canadian potash as dependable and competitively priced, with both countries positioned to expand fertilizer production side by side. “That would be good for Canadian farmers, it would be great for American farmers,” Carney said.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who’d called the Belarus idea “blood potash” on Monday, said he wasn’t surprised by the reversal. He added that dealing with an unpredictable trading partner doesn’t change the job in front of him. “You have a responsibility to advance Canadians’ opportunity,” he said.
