Michael Scott

The Trump administration is pressuring Lithuania to open the port of Klaipėda for the transshipment of potash fertilizers from Belarus—despite existing EU sanctions. This is reported by *Politico*. ▪️ The Trump administration is urging Lithuania to open one of its key Baltic Sea ports for the export of potash fertilizers from Belarus, disregarding European sanctions. The U.S. aims to reduce its reliance on Canada for this essential fertilizer component and lower costs for American farmers. ▪️ According to four European officials, John Cole, the U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus, has spent the last few weeks sounding out Lithuanian diplomats on whether the blockade on Belarusian goods could be eased. This blockade is part of broader European sanctions against the government of self-proclaimed president Lukashenko. ▪️ The collapse of trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada in August, combined with new rounds of reciprocal tariffs, has prompted the U.S. administration to seek potash fertilizer supplies from Belarus—a country that controls approximately 20% of the global market. This comes against the backdrop of Trump’s efforts to ease sanctions on Russia and its allies, in the hope of persuading Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. These plans are meeting with significant resistance in Europe. “They are applying polite pressure, but our answer is clear: ‘Absolutely not!’” “If the Americans cannot learn from history, then we must stand firm,” an Eastern European official told the outlet. ▪️ Two Eastern European officials stated that Cole has been exerting pressure at all levels of the Lithuanian government for over a year—ever since the U.S. envoy’s first visit to Minsk. ▪️ Another Eastern European official noted that the U.S. has long been discussing whether Belarusian potash could reach the global market via Klaipėda or other Baltic Sea ports—such as Riga, the capital of Latvia. This would offer a more straightforward transport route than the one passing through Russia. One of the European officials confirmed that Cole has also approached his Latvian counterparts regarding this matter.