Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has sharply criticized a recent post from American President Donald Trump where the president called for the US to purchase potash from Belarus in a response to the ongoing trade war with Canada."The United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of Potash from Belarus," the American president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday..Trump also claimed that the potash sourced from Belarus would cost "substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada."This statement garnered backlash from many on both sides of the border, with Canadian and American commentators criticizing the president for his support of Belarus, a country that has long supported the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.One of the most outspoken criticisms came from Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who stated that buying "blood potash" from Belarus would be "supporting Russian aggression" towards Ukraine.."More than 40 countries - Canada and its allies - have sanctions against Belarus for supporting war criminal Putin’s invasion of Ukraine," Moe wrote on X. "All of that potash has to be shipped first through Russia, then across the ocean, then across the US to mid-western farmers.""Does anyone believe Belarusian blood potash shipped through Russia is going to be more affordable, more sustainable or more ethical than potash shipped from Saskatchewan - right here in North America?".Potash is a mined or manufactured salt that contains potassium primarily used by farmers as a form of fertilizer for their crops.Saskatchewan alone supplies over 85% of US potash imports, with Canada being far and away the world's largest exporter of the fertilizer.As of 2020, Canada produced close to 14 million metric tons of potash, almost double that of Belarus, which produced just 7.5 million metric tons of the stuff..Another kink in Trump's plan is the fact that Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that even if the nation wanted to send potash to America, it just simply doesn't have the volume."Even if we wanted to supply somewhere else, Western markets, we just don't have those volumes, everything has been contracted," Lukashenko said in response to Trump's post. .This post from the American president is yet another in a long list of threats from the American administration towards key Canadian industries as a result of the ongoing trade war between the two countries. However, the targeting of potash may backfire on the Americans, as without the fertilizer, American farmers simply will not be able to grow food as efficiently or as affordably.This means that American consumers may see the cost of food increase if Trump commits to his plan to hinder American farmers from purchasing Canadian potash.
