Murray Wood: Trump's potash claim is more 'art' than deal
The U.S. president says a deal is in the works to buy cheap potash from Belarus, but Murray Wood says Donald Trump proba...
NEW YORK — U.S. President Donald Trump says his country will continue buying Canadian potash after all.
Trump made the comments to reporters Tuesday during a bilateral meeting at the United Nations General Assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It comes a day after Trump said he was working on a deal to buy cheaper potash from Belarus in a bid to lessen the United States’ dependence on Canada.
“Belarus has a lot of potash, and our farmers need good prices, and we want to get a lower price,” Trump told reporters when asked about the proposed deal.
“We’ll continue to go with Canada, but Belarus would like to sell it for a much lower price.”
Canada is the world’s largest producer of potash, a key component of fertilizers, and the United States is its biggest customer.
Asked about Trump’s comments, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters at a separate news conference that Canada’s potash is reliable and cost-effective.
He said Canada will continue to supply the United States with potash and that there’s an opportunity for both countries to grow the fertilizer industry together.
“That would be good for Canadian farmers, it would be great for American farmers,” Carney said.
All of Canada’s potash is produced in Saskatchewan.
On Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe condemned Trump’s initial comments, saying Belarusian potash is unethical due to the country’s involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Asked about Trump’s latest comments, Moe told the CBC on Tuesday he’s not surprised by them.
“It was never realistic,” he said in Regina.
“Hopefully it would lead to maybe some more substantial opportunities for a conversation for us to strengthen our North American trade agreements rather than talk about these types of things that aren’t real in any way.”
Industry leaders and economists have questioned how the United States could get cheaper potash from Belarus when Canada is much closer and has reliable supply-chain infrastructure.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has also said his country has limitations, saying it can’t supply the United States with large volumes of potash.
Both Canada and the United States are in a trade war with tit-for-tat tariffs on a wide range of products. Trump has said he doesn’t need Canadian goods, even though Canada supplies its southern neighbour with products the United States can’t produce.
Moe said it’s still worth it for both countries to get a trade deal done.
“We may not like who we’re dealing with, we may not trust who we’re dealing with, we may not think that we could ever be friends with the guy we’re dealing with, (but) none of that matters when you’re in an elected position,” he said. “You have a responsibility to advance Canadians’ opportunity.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2026.
— By Jeremy Simes in Regina
The Canadian Press
