U.S. President Donald Trump is signalling that Canadian fertilizer could soon face significant new levies as his administration looks for ways to support American farmers caught in ongoing trade uncertainty. Speaking at a Washington roundtable after unveiling a twelve billion dollar agriculture aid plan, Trump said Canadian potash and other fertilizer imports may be targeted if the United States wants to boost domestic production.
Trump told reporters that a substantial share of fertilizer used in the United States comes from Canada and suggested that steep tariffs would push production back onto American soil. The comments come at a difficult moment for farmers across the Midwest, many of whom have struggled with weakened commodity markets due to a prolonged trade dispute with China and unsettled trade relations with Canada and other allies. The administration has repeatedly named fertilizer as a sector in which the United States wants to reduce foreign reliance.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said reducing dependence on imported nutrients remains a major priority for her department, although she acknowledged that American farms rely heavily on Canadian potash based products for crops such as corn and potatoes. Canada is the world’s largest potash supplier and exports more than ninety five per cent of what it produces. Fertilizer Canada estimates that well over half of those exports are used on American farmland.
Industry experts have warned that Trump’s latest comments could trigger a repeat of earlier tariff turmoil. Veronica Nigh, senior economist with the U.S. based Fertilizer Institute, said the remarks feel like another cycle of uncertainty that could force up prices for American growers. She noted that fertilizer costs surged at the beginning of the year when Trump applied broad tariffs to Canadian goods. Potash prices jumped from three hundred three dollars per short ton to three hundred forty eight in less than two months, according to data reported by Reuters. The escalation prompted complaints from lawmakers and farm groups, leading the administration to reduce those fertilizer tariffs to ten per cent in March.
Nigh said new penalties on Canadian imports would raise costs again for American farmers because the United States has limited domestic potash reserves. She added that outside of Canada, the only major exporters are Russia and Belarus, two countries that are not reliable partners for agricultural supply chains. Experts warn that targeting Canadian fertilizer could undermine both countries and disrupt long standing cross border trade that benefits growers on each side of the border. Although Canada and the United States have eased some tensions in recent months, Trump told reporters that any restart of trade talks remains uncertain.
