Easing potash sanctions and moving the fertilizer through Baltic ports is among the options US and Russian officials have explored, according to people familiar with the matter quoted by the Financial Times on October 27, 2026. The paper said such a move “would require the EU to lift sanctions.” It did not say which ones, and the record on Russian potash sanctions turns out to be thin.
Where it stands: Washington has already dropped its own potash sanctions on Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, in moves between December 2025 and March 2026. For the Russia talks, the FT’s US official tied all economic ideas to a peace framework, saying: “nothing is finalised.” The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, did not get back to the FT, and Kirill Dmitriev’s spokesperson would not comment. No outlet other than the FT had reported the potash discussions by October 28.
What exactly is on the table, according to the FT?
A single sentence: officials discussed relaxing potash sanctions and exporting through the Baltic, which would need EU sign-off. Potash is a potassium-bearing mineral used mostly as crop fertilizer.
The story named no country of origin, no company and no specific port. It did record Europe’s warning to Washington that decisions touching EU interests “cannot be taken without Europe’s approval.” Every reported proposal is listed in our rundown of the FT story.
Are there Russian potash sanctions to lift?
Not in the US, at least on the product itself. Russian potash is cleared for trade and still lands at American ports.
Back in July 2022, the US told companies moving Russian food and fertilizer that those deals “would not breach sanctions,” RFE/RL reported. Over 2021-2024, according to the US Geological Survey, Russia was the second-largest source of US potash imports at 12%, far behind Canada’s 79%. Reuters confirmed in September 2026 that Russian potash shipments were still coming in.
In Europe, this site found no EU sanction targeting Russian potash as such. What the EU did impose in 2025 were tariffs on Russian and Belarusian fertilisers, starting at a 6.5% duty plus a per-tonne charge. The European Parliament’s background note pointed to surging imports of “urea and nitrogen-based fertilisers from Russia,” and said fertiliser income “is considered to be contributing directly to the war against Ukraine.”
Belarus is where the EU’s potash sanctions bite. According to the US Treasury, the EU on June 24, 2021 barred the purchase, import or transfer of Belarusian potash. That ban, together with Lithuania’s port closure, is what the FT’s mention of Baltic ports most obviously matches, though the FT did not say so.
Why does Lithuania’s Klaipeda port matter?
Klaipeda was the main outlet for Belarusian potash until 2022, so reopening it would need a decision in Vilnius as well as in Brussels.
Belaruskali, the Belarusian state producer, once owned a “30 percent stake in Klaipeda’s bulk cargo terminal,” according to the Carnegie Endowment. Lithuania stopped its rail transit at the end of January 2022; the transport minister said he knew of no Belarusian freight planned after February 1, the broadcaster LRT reported. The port’s turnover dropped about 20 percent that year, Carnegie said, as Belarusian potash moved instead through Russian ports such as Ust-Luga.
Belaruskali is seeking “damages of 12 billion euros,” Carnegie reported. Washington has pressed Vilnius to let the trains run again, the trade outlet ChemAnalyst reported. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has replied that Lithuania “will not discuss resuming exports as long as they are in force,” meaning EU sanctions.
How did Washington unwind its Belarus potash sanctions?
Gradually, over months of contact with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Each step was reported alongside a release of prisoners by Minsk.
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| Jun 2021 | EU bans Belarusian potash purchases |
| Aug 2021 | US designates Belaruskali |
| Feb 2022 | Lithuania halts potash transit to Klaipeda |
| Sep 2025 | US eases some Belarus sanctions; 50+ prisoners freed, per AP |
| Dec 2025 | US says it will lift potash sanctions; 123 pardoned, per AP; Treasury license follows |
| Mar 2026 | US envoy announces all remaining sanctions on the potash firms removed; 250 released, per RFE/RL |
| Oct 2026 | First Belarusian potash cargo to the US in four years |
The 2021 US action had singled out “Belaruskali OAO, which is one of Belarus’s largest state-owned enterprises, one of the world’s largest producers of potash, and a source of illicit wealth for the regime.”
Relief started with a license. Global Agriculture reported that Treasury sanctions officials issued General License 13 on December 15, 2025, opening dealings with Belaruskali, its export arm, the Belarusian Potash Company, and an affiliate, Agrorozkvit. Then, on March 19, envoy John Coale said after meeting Lukashenko in Minsk that every remaining sanction on those firms was gone, RFE/RL reported.
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Cargo followed in October: a “30,000-tonne shipment” due in New Orleans around October 14, shipped by way of Russia because, Global Agriculture noted, EU sanctions still keep Belarusian potash out of Klaipeda.
Belarus’s exiled opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, objected in September 2026: “Our position is that it is not time to trade with the regime while all the income from potash goes to repression, goes to support of the Russian war machine.”
Who would gain from Russian potash sanctions relief?
The most direct beneficiaries would be producers in Russia and Belarus, which now ship by longer, costlier routes. Whether American farmers would pay less is disputed.
RFE/RL, using USGS figures, put Belarus’s 2025 output at some 6 million metric tons, behind Canada (15 million), Russia (10 million) and China (6.3 million). Reuters has reported that sanctions and the Klaipeda shutdown leave Belarusian and Russian potash “expensive to ship to the US through Russia’s Arctic.”
Trump wrote in September 2026 that a Belarusian potash purchase deal was in the works, at prices “substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada.” Carnegie noted that letting Belarusian potash back onto world markets could help the US lean less on Canada.
Others doubt the payoff. StoneX fertilizer analyst Josh Linville told Reuters: “I’m afraid the impact would be limited. We have not struggled to find potash.” Even an open Klaipeda, he argued, would not make trans-Atlantic shipments pay at today’s prices. And Lukashenko said Belarus had nothing spare to sell: “everything is contracted.”
Europe’s wider objections to the reported deals are covered in our report on the EU’s position. The October cargo to New Orleans, the first Belarusian potash delivery to the US in four years, came by way of Russia, not Lithuania.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the US sanction Russian potash?
Not the commodity. Since a July 2022 clarification, Washington has treated Russian fertilizer trade as licensed, and Russia accounted for 12% of US potash imports in 2021-2024, US Geological Survey figures show.
When did the US lift sanctions on Belarusian potash?
In two steps. A Treasury general license in December 2025 allowed dealings with Belaruskali and two related firms, and in March 2026 a US envoy announced that every remaining sanction on the three had been removed.
Why is the Klaipeda port closed to Belarusian potash?
Lithuania cut off Belaruskali rail shipments to Klaipeda at the end of January 2022, and the EU’s Belarus measures remain in force. Lithuania’s foreign minister has said his government will not discuss reopening while those sanctions apply.
Is a US-Russia potash deal agreed?
No. The Financial Times described it on October 27, 2026 as something officials had discussed, and its US source stressed that no part of the package was final.
Sources
- Washington discusses Russian deals for US oil majors in Ukraine peace talks — Financial Times, October 27, 2026
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Potash — US Geological Survey, February 2026
- Fact Sheet: Executive Order Imposing Costs on Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Belarusian Authorities — The White House (archived), August 9, 2021
- Treasury Holds the Belarusian Regime to Account on Anniversary of Fraudulent Election — US Treasury (FRASER archive), August 9, 2021
- U.S. Clarifies Russia-Related Licenses To Ease Businesses’ Concerns Over Sanctions — RFE/RL, July 15, 2022
- Parliament approves new tariffs on Russian and Belarussian agricultural goods — European Parliament, May 2025
- Trump Says U.S. Is Working on Deal to Purchase Potash from Belarus — Reuters (via AgWeb), September 21, 2026
- Lithuania’s Potash Dilemma Raises Questions About Sanctions’ Effectiveness — Carnegie Endowment, January 2026
- Belaruskali to wrap up cargo shipments across Lithuania at midnight — LRT (citing BNS), January 31, 2022
- Can Belarus Replace Canada As US Potash Provider? — RFE/RL, September 22, 2026
- Lithuania Says US Pushes to Restart Belarus Potash Exports — ChemAnalyst, 2026
- Belarus frees Nobel Prize laureate and opposition figures as U.S. lifts sanctions — NBC News (AP), December 14, 2025
- First Belarusian Potash Cargo in Four Years Set to Reach US Port — Global Agriculture, October 7, 2026
- Washington Eases Sanctions On Minsk As Belarus Releases 250 Prisoners — RFE/RL, March 19, 2026
- Tsikhanouskaya Warns Trump Over Belarus Potash Deal — Kyiv Post (AFP), September 21, 2026
- Lukashenko dampens Trump’s hopes for Belarusian potash — Kyiv Independent, September 22, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.