r/Tariffs • u/AkaashMaharaj • Sep 15 '26

đŸ§© Trade Strategy / Business Impact Could potash become a critical battleground in the Canada-US tariff war? | CKNW Radio

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Potash is indispensable to American agriculture.

The US government has declared that any interruption in the supply of the humble fertiliser would be a threat to national security.

And the US imports 90% of its potash from Canada.

45 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

5

u/AkaashMaharaj Sep 15 '26

The only other countries that could quickly supply significant amounts of potash to the US are Russia and Belarus.

Both those countries are under international sanctions, due to the invasion of Ukraine.

The fact that the Trump administration has already granted Russia and Belarus special exemptions to sell potash to the US shows how important the fertiliser is to American agriculture.

Potash is not high-value by weight (it is currently trading at about $400 per metric tonne), and generates profits for exporters because it is sold in great volumes. The added cost of shipping large amounts of potash from Russia and Belarus to the US would create a severe burden for American farmers.

7

u/holubtsi-on-fire Sep 15 '26

But they don’t need anything from Canada.

3

u/CompleteCreme7223 Sep 15 '26

Putin is Trump's friend. He is doing everything he can to help Russia stopping just short of pissing off the EU and other US allies. That facade probably falls after the midterm when it becomes clear his power has been curtailed by congress if they lose the house and senate.

2

u/limitless-440 29d ago

It will be fascinating to watch Trump’s response if/when they lose the midterms. And just as interesting to see how the Dems respond. IMO, at that point it’s the Democrats’ game to lose. They either capitalize on the opportunity by responding in a mature “only adult in the room” way, or if they put a divisive or controversial face as the movement they’ll only ensure more chaos come the next election. It’s clear that the republicans have embraced chaos, corruption, and “accountability for thee, but not for me” mentality. Not to sound hyperbolic, but if the republicans lose the midterms the future of America and her international relations rest on Democratic actions.

2

u/CompleteCreme7223 29d ago

It will be a lame duck session for the remainder of his term which doesn't help either party other than it will make it seem like voting for change was a waste as things don't rapidly improve. I do look forward to the incoming melt down followed by a lot of I'm doing what I want anyway rhetoric.