NEW YORK, N.Y. — It did not take long for President Donald Trump to reverse himself on the deal to buy potash from Belarus.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the United Nations, Trump said that on potash, “we'll continue to go with Canada, but Belarus would like to sell it for a much lower price.”
Speaking to CBC’s Power & Politics soon after, Premier Scott Moe said he was not surprised by the response, saying that buying potash from Belarus was “never realistic.”
The furore had erupted on Monday when Trump posted on the Truth Social platform that the "United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of potash from Belarus. The pricing would be for substantially less than what we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our farmers and ranchers."
That had drawn a strong reaction from Premier Moe, who said on social media the purchase of “blood potash” would support Russian aggression.
The posting by Trump also drew a strong reaction from others on social media with many comments pointing out Belarus is a landlocked country facing international sanctions. The president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko also wade in, saying their potash exports were already contracted and there were no spare volumes left.
Speaking to our podcast Trade Dispute: Impact on the Prairies, business commentator Paul Martin said it was highly unlikely Belarus even has capacity to replace the massive volume of potash the United States currently buys from Canada.
“Further to that, I think if I'm an American farmer, I'm probably feeling a little annoyed that my president's using me as a pawn in this game,” Martin said. “They're throwing me into the, you know, on the table. And I supported this guy, and, what's he doing? He should be trying to make my life easier, not make it more complicated.”
With files from Steven Wilson.
