President Donald Trump announced Monday on Truth Social that he is “working on a massive Deal” with Belarus to ease the economic pain his trade war with Canada is causing U.S. farmers.
“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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted.
The move involves a country led by Alexander Lukashenko, who is widely known as “Europe’s last dictator” because of his iron grip on power in Belarus since 1994. Lukashenko has long been accused of egregious human rights abuses. In February, the UN argued that his government has committed “crimes against humanity.”
A UN report on the situation in Belarus recently found that men and women in detention had been routinely subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks and threats to rape not only detainees but their partners as well. The report also said security forces displayed marked brutality toward LGBTIQ+ individuals, using physical violence and dehumanizing language.
Trump’s outreach to Lukashenko is not new. Last August, after Trump praised the Belarusian leader on social media, CNN’s Aaron Blake noted that the Trump State Department in 2020 said it did not recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, citing a rigged election. Blake pointed out that Trump now calls Lukashenko “the highly respected President of Belarus.”
The potash announcement comes as the president’s trade war with Canada continues to shake up a key agricultural market. Canada is the world’s largest exporter of potash, a key component in modern-day agriculture. According to the article’s reporting, Trump’s trade war has disrupted the U.S. market for the fertilizer component, which farmers and ranchers need to keep their businesses going.
For Trump, the pitch is aimed squarely at those farmers and ranchers. He framed the potential deal as very good news for them, saying the pricing from Belarus would be substantially less than what the United States is currently paying to Canada.
The president did not offer further details in his post, which ended with his signature line thanking readers for their attention to the matter. Still, the message was clear: with Canada the world’s biggest potash exporter and the trade war upending the market, Trump is looking elsewhere for a supply of the crop nutrient at a lower price.
The announcement puts Trump’s economic priorities for American agriculture alongside the long-standing controversy surrounding Lukashenko, whose government has faced sharp condemnation from the United Nations. For now, the deal remains a work in progress, with Trump describing it only as something the United States is working on.
[READ MORE: Merz Calls Party’s Election Collapse a “Disaster” as AfD Surges to Victory in Another German State]
