Carney Pitches Canada-U.S. Fertilizer Pact as Trump Eyes Belarus
Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed Tuesday that Canada and the United States build a partnership to become "self-sufficient" and "fertilizer independent." He spoke to reporters in New York while attending the United Nations General Assembly. The Globe and Mail
The idea goes beyond potash. Carney said it should cover all fertilizer ingredients, including ammonia, another basic ingredient in fertilizer.
Canada now supplies about 85 per cent of the potash the United States needs. Because of that reliance, U.S. President Donald Trump exempted fertilizer from his tariffs. The Globe and Mail
On September 21, Trump said the United States was working on a deal to buy potash from Belarus. Reuters He said the Belarusian potash would cost less than Canadian potash. He described the idea as a way to reduce reliance on Canada during the trade war.
Trump also said Belarus wants to sell potash "for a much lower price" and that American farmers need affordable prices.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Monday that Belarus has already promised most of its potash to other countries.
Trump gave a different public message Tuesday. During a meeting at the UN with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he said the United States will keep buying potash from Canada. The Globe and Mail
The broader context here is familiar in Ottawa. An exemption that rests on the United States needing Canadian supply holds only while no other supplier looks ready. Carney's pitch answers that point directly. It frames Canadian supply as shared security, not as a weakness to bargain down or replace.
Looking at what comes next, adding ammonia makes the plan larger and more complicated. Potash comes mainly from the Prairies and already moves south by established routes. A wider pact is less like one pipeline and more like a road network with many owners, touching production, transport and buying decisions that involve provinces and private firms. For Ottawa, the gain is influence in Washington and support from farm states. The risk is promising a tidy system Ottawa does not fully control. The question to watch is whether Washington sees continued buying from Canada as a step toward a formal deal, or as a pause while it keeps shopping for cheaper suppliers.
