IN DECEMBER 2025, United States president Donald Trump struck a deal that—uncharacteristically for such a spectacle-driven politician—barely registered among the general public.

The agreement committed the Belarusian government to releasing 123 political prisoners, a significant concession from one of Europe’s most entrenched authoritarian regimes. In return, Washington agreed to lift sanctions on Belarus’s potash exports—sanctions it escalated after the country’s rigged 2020 election and later expanded, in 2022, when Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory to invade Ukraine.

Why potash? Blame Canada. The United States can live without many imports. It can’t farm at scale without our potash. In 2024, the US imported about 12 million tonnes of the fertilizer from Canada, all of it dug from Saskatchewan, where it enters the US tariff-free under the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Cut that supply, and American agriculture could grind to a halt.

As CUSMA heads into renegotiation this summer, the mood in Washington appears confrontational. Reopening Belarusian exports would give the US access to one of the few alternative global reserves—and, with it, leverage in an area where it currently has little.

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[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 19 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Trump Is Spoiling for a Fight ~~over Canadian Potash~~

Let's be honest here: he'll take any excuse, and if he can't find one, he'll manufacture it.

And really, Belarus doesn't produce enough potash to cover that 12 million tons even if they sent their entire production to the US.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 weeks ago

Let's be honest here: he'll take any excuse, and if he can't find one, he'll manufacture it.

And he had already proven that he doesn't need much of an excuse to start manufacturing reasons.

He thinks fighting makes him look strong. And, while the MAGA cultists still fall for that act, most everyone else is noticing that he looks more like an impotent Don Quixote then anything else.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

As a dope smoker I use a large coffee can for my leavings so I hardly ever have to dump my pot ash.

[–] GrindingGears@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

You should send it to the White house

[–] L_N@piefed.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure Trump's attacks are relatively random and not very premeditated. He must get up angry in the morning and randomly decides to mess with us. Trump doesn't know what it's like to do politics with allies. He only thinks about himself; it's strange that part of the electorate thinks he cares about them...

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

He starts fights that are easy to win, or he thinks they are.