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PoliticsRising · 15h

Trump announces potash deal with Belarus, but supply and logistics prove impossible

The president claims a major fertilizer agreement to undercut Canadian imports, but Belarus lacks spare capacity and faces EU sanctions blocking exports.

newest coverage 34m agosummary written 12h ago10 pieces NewswiresMastodonReddit

What to know

  • Trump claims a major potash deal with Belarus to undercut Canadian imports amid his declared trade war on Canada, which supplies 80% of U.S. potash needs.
  • Belarus's leader says the country has zero spare capacity—all potash is already contracted—and logistics are unfeasible: Belarus is landlocked and under EU sanctions over human rights abuses and Russia complicity.
  • The plan exposes Trump's approach to economic policy: rejecting mutual trade benefits and attempting direct control of supply chains, regardless of feasibility or geopolitical constraints.
most voices

Trump's potash strategy is unrealistic and reflects a broader ideological hostility to international trade cooperation.

  • “Running a command economy is the mark of a Communist state. Just sayin'.”

    Seilenos · Mastodon ↗

“It was a war, but it's perhaps the biggest deal ever made. To the victor belong the spoils. We will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States.”

Donald Trump, U.S. President · The Bulwark (UN General Assembly speech) ↗

Donald TrumpDonald Trump U.S. PresidentAlexander LukashenkoAlexander Lukashenko President of Belarus

Trump announces potash deal with Belarus, but supply and logistics prove impossible
thebulwark.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in one half hour at Yesterday, 7 PM; 10 pieces over 16 hours (2 articles · 7 posts · 1 comment) Yesterday, 8:58 AM — quietYesterday, 9:28 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Yesterday, 9:58 AM — quietYesterday, 10:28 AM — quietYesterday, 10:58 AM — quietYesterday, 11:28 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 11:58 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Yesterday, 12:28 PM — quietYesterday, 12:58 PM — quietYesterday, 1:28 PM — quietYesterday, 1:58 PM — quietYesterday, 2:28 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 2:58 PM — quietYesterday, 3:28 PM — quietYesterday, 3:58 PM — quietYesterday, 4:28 PM — quietYesterday, 4:58 PM — quietYesterday, 5:28 PM — quietYesterday, 5:58 PM — quietYesterday, 6:28 PM — quietYesterday, 6:58 PM — quietYesterday, 7:28 PM — quietYesterday, 7:58 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 1, Reddit 1Yesterday, 8:28 PM — quietYesterday, 8:58 PM — quietYesterday, 9:28 PM — quietYesterday, 9:58 PM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Reddit 1Yesterday, 10:28 PM — quietYesterday, 10:58 PM — quietYesterday, 11:28 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 11:58 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Today, 12:28 AM — quiet 1
12 PM4 PM8 PMnow · 12:58 AM ET
  1. 1

    Bulwark details logistical impossibility of Belarus potash exports

    Analysis identifies two core barriers to Trump's plan: Belarus has no spare supply, and the country is landlocked and under EU sanctions for human rights abuses and complicity in Russia's Ukraine invasion. Shipping potash to the U.S. would require EU authorization to breach sanctions.

    “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 we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our Farmers and Ranchers.”
    — Donald Trump, U.S. President · source
    1. 1 outlet We Watched Six Hours of Trump TV

      first by The Bulwark, 15h ago

    • Seilenos@queerspirituality.social

      "The potash trade is just one example, but Trump has been trying hard to run the whole economy this way—even before he really got himself into trouble in Iran. Any supply chain he can’t take personal credit for standing up is hateful to him." I'm pretty sure that running a command economy is the mark of a Communist state. Just sayin'. https://www…

      Seilenos@queerspirituality.socialMastodon13h agoview on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 6 posts in this stretch

    • True Dems can obviously just keep doing what they did last time, it worked so well right? I mean, a pedophile rapist conman lied his way into winning a second admin, but thats just a coincidence.

      Mighty__Monarchr/politics2h agoview on r/politics ↗

    • "As Lincoln himself said, in another context, 'Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid.'" He could have just as easily been talking about our current moment.

      bulwarkonline@threads.netMastodon10h agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Lukashenko denies Belarus has spare potash capacity — Belarus's authoritarian leader said Monday that even if Belarus wanted to supply potash to Western markets, it cannot—all production is already contracted for the year.

  3. background

    Trump declares trade war on Canada over potash — As context for the Belarus deal, Trump initiated tariff threats against Canada, arguing that if the U.S. imports more from a country than it exports, that country is exploiting America. This threatens the potash supply chain: the U.S. imports nearly 8 million tons annually from Canada (80 percent of domestic consumption).

  4. background

    Trump announces Belarus potash deal on Truth Social — Trump posted that the U.S. is working on a deal to purchase potash from Belarus at substantially lower prices than current Canadian imports, framing it as beneficial for American farmers and ranchers.

What people are saying 3 voices from 1 site · best of 6 · verbatim