Sask. Premier Moe blasts Trump’s plan to buy potash from Belarus

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to partner with Belarus for potash.

According to Trump, the U.S. is working on a deal to buy potash from the authoritarian state of Belarus, a close Russian ally.

The move would reduce the U.S.’s dependence on Canadian fertilizer.

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Trump said on social media Monday morning that prices would be “substantially less” than what American buyers currently pay to Canadian exporters.

A few hours after the president’s post, Premier Scott Moe took to X to share his thoughts on the partnership.

On social media, Premier Scott Moe said U.S. President’s Trump idea to buy potash from Belarus “doesn’t make sense.” (650 CKOM file photo)

“More than 40 countries – Canada and its allies – have sanctions against Belarus for supporting war criminal Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Moe said.

“Buying blood potash from Belarus is supporting Russian aggression. It’s wrong and it doesn’t make sense,” he added.

According to Moe, all the potash from Belarus would need to be shipped through Russia first, then across the ocean, before reaching farmers in the middle of the U.S.

Moe questioned whether the lengths the U.S. would need to go to in order to have this potash delivered would really be cheaper than what’s coming from Saskatchewan.

NDP leader Carla Beck also shared her thoughts on the potential partnership.

“It is infuriating to see Donald Trump attacking Saskatchewan’s potash industry by stating he is looking at signing a deal with an authoritarian Russian satellite state,” Beck said.

“This is a bad idea that will only hurt families and communities on both sides of the border,” she added.

On a federal level, Regina—Qu’Appelle MP Andrew Scheer wrote on X that the Conservative Party condemns “this latest unjustified threat from President Trump on our potash industry in Saskatchewan.”

He said Belarus is a “communist dictatorship” with a “terrible human rights record.”

Scheer called the suggestion that the country would be a better trading partner than Canada “ridiculous.”

According to Natural Resources Canada, the U.S. imported $4.2 billion worth of potash last year, comprising nearly half of Canada’s potash exports.

Potash, a key component in fertilizers, has been exempt from U.S. tariffs, and roughly a third of the world’s supply came from Canada in 2023. Russia and Belarus were the next biggest producers.

-with files from The Canadian Press