{"id":8631,"date":"2026-09-18T21:24:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T21:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/?p=8631"},"modified":"2026-09-18T21:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T21:24:42","slug":"trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div\n\tid=\"tl-fpb-1\"\n\tstyle=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg?quality=80&amp;w=4096);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;min-height:500px\" class=\"tl-featured-post-banner mar-b-0 mob-mar-b-0 pad-b-0 mob-pad-b-0 wp-block-rbc-thought-leadership-blocks-featured-post-banner\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__gradient\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;z-index:0;pointer-events:none;\"><\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"tl-pill tl-pill--banner\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\tGeopolitics, Trade and the Economy\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTrade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t\tPlus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU \t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-block  pos-rel\" style=\"border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-inner-block  section-inner\" style=\"border-radius:0x\">\n<h2 id=\"h-an-alliance-across-the-atlantic-nbsp\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-rbc-bright-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1\">An Alliance across the Atlantic&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After hosting some of the world\u2019s largest institutional investors in&nbsp;Toronto,&nbsp;Prime Minister Mark Carney jetted off&nbsp;to address the European Parliament, part of his broader effort to build stronger ties outside the U.S.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"everviz-Slmj2sHrI\" class=\"everviz-Slmj2sHrI\" data-view=\"graph\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-rbc-list mar-t mob-mar-t is-style-blue-disc\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since CETA came into force, trade with the EU has boomed, with the&nbsp;total&nbsp;value of trade reaching more&nbsp;$134 billion&nbsp;in 2025. Canada\u2019s exports to the EU grew 23% annually in 2025 to&nbsp;$43 billion, but the country still has a trade deficit with Europe of around&nbsp;$49 billion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canada\u2019s top export to the EU is crude oil, followed by gold, vehicles, other petroleum&nbsp;oils&nbsp;and natural gas.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within the EU, the Netherlands is the top destination for Canadian merchandise goods, with 22% of trade heading to the Dutch, followed by Germany (21%), France (12%), Italy (9%)&nbsp;and Belgium (9%). All other EU countries&nbsp;represented&nbsp;the remaining 26% of trade.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quebec is the largest exporter to the EU among&nbsp;Canadian provinces and territories,&nbsp;representing&nbsp;a 32% share of&nbsp;the total, followed by Ontario (27%), the Atlantic provinces (17%), Saskatchewan (9%) and Alberta and B.C. (5%).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-block  pos-rel\" style=\"border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-inner-block  section-inner\" style=\"border-radius:0x\">\n<h2 id=\"h-how-canada-can-help-alleviate-a-nbsp-sulphur-nbsp-squeeze-nbsp-nbsp\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-rbc-bright-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2\">How Canada can help alleviate a&nbsp;sulphur&nbsp;squeeze&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sulphur prices skyrocketed to record levels in 2026&nbsp;and&nbsp;remain far above historical norms, putting pressure on&nbsp;fertilizer and crop sectors&nbsp;that need&nbsp;as much as four&nbsp;tonnes&nbsp;of&nbsp;sulphur&nbsp;to make&nbsp;10&nbsp;tonnes&nbsp;of finished phosphates, a key&nbsp;fertilizer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GMC Trading Group estimates\u00a0sulphur\u00a0prices were\u00a0$874\u00a0per metric\u00a0tonne\u00a0in June this year,\u00a0six times the levels seen in 2024.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"everviz-wx304xxIn\" class=\"everviz-wx304xxIn\" data-view=\"graph\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"mar-t mob-mar-t wp-block-paragraph\">Like many commodities,&nbsp;sulphur&nbsp;is&nbsp;being squeezed by&nbsp;shipping&nbsp;disruptions&nbsp;in the Middle East,&nbsp;with alternatives hard to&nbsp;source,&nbsp;supply cannot easily be ramped up to meet demand. Sulphur is&nbsp;largely a&nbsp;byproduct of the oil and gas industry,&nbsp;with&nbsp;Gulf states supplying 50% of globally marine-traded&nbsp;sulphur.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To shore up its domestic&nbsp;sulphur&nbsp;stocks,&nbsp;China&nbsp;banned exports of&nbsp;sulphuric&nbsp;acid in May,&nbsp;with&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;following suit&nbsp;same&nbsp;on&nbsp;Monday,&nbsp;restricting global supply further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The squeeze has forced phosphate producers in several regions to curtail production in fertilizer plants, as current&nbsp;sulphur&nbsp;spot prices make operations unprofitable<sup><a href=\"#legal-1\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-label=\"1\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">1<\/a><\/sup>. If elevated prices&nbsp;continue&nbsp;there could be significantly reduced availability for the key crop nutrient in 2027.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canada is\u00a0a\u00a0top\u00a0global\u00a0sulphur\u00a0supplier, primarily\u00a0from oil and gas rich\u00a0Alberta.\u00a0Canada\u00a0exported\u00a0more than\u00a0four\u00a0million\u00a0tonnes<sup><a href=\"#legal-2\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-label=\"2\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">2<\/a><\/sup> in 2025 to over a dozen countries, worth\u00a0$1.4\u00a0billion,\u00a0up 261% from the previous year<sup><a href=\"#legal-3\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-label=\"3\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">3<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canada also boasts among the largest sulphur inventories in the world, sitting at around 11 million tonnes. The commodity can be stored cheaply in massive, solid blocks, but moving it requires re-melting and converting to pellets, and transporting long distances with specialized equipment and terminal infrastructure. Exporting costs could add up to more than $150 per tonne, according to Argus<sup><a href=\"#legal-4\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-label=\"4\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">4<\/a><\/sup>.&nbsp;Capitalizing on the soaring sulphur prices by drawing down on the inventory has therefore been limited, with Alberta\u2019s inventory blocks only changing from 11.4 MT in January to 11.1 MT by the end of July.<sup><a href=\"#legal-5\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-label=\"5\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">5<\/a><\/sup>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However,&nbsp;higher prices improve the economics of recovering and removing&nbsp;sulphur&nbsp;that&nbsp;couldn\u2019t&nbsp;be&nbsp;justified&nbsp;before, encouraging more investment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&#8212; Wilson Fink,&nbsp;Agriculture Policy Lead<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-block  pos-rel\" style=\"border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-inner-block  section-inner\" style=\"border-radius:0x\">\n<h2 id=\"h-the-week-that-was\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-rbc-bright-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3\">The week that was<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/09\/17\/trump-sheinbaum-call-trade-01082423\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-label=\"Trump and Sheinbaum\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">Trump and Sheinbaum<\/a>&nbsp;spoke amid trade talks&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-rbc-list is-style-blue-disc\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum&nbsp;discussed&nbsp;a trade deal&nbsp;that&nbsp;remains&nbsp;in the works. A fourth round of formal discussions related to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review will take place at the end of the month. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Canada\u2019s international&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bnnbloomberg.ca\/business\/international\/2026\/09\/17\/international-trade-minister-heading-to-india-philippines-for-talks\/\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-label=\"trade minister\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">trade minister<\/a>&nbsp;went to Asia&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-rbc-list is-style-blue-disc\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minister Maninder Sidhu travelled to India and the Philippines, where he was set to meet officials and advance trade deal negotiations.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong>EU took aim at its&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ca.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/eu-tools-cut-china-trade-072845047.html\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-label=\"trade deficit\u00a0\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">trade deficit&nbsp;<\/a>with China<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-rbc-list is-style-blue-disc\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU \u201cwill use all the tools\u201d to rebalance its relationship with China. Europe had a goods trade deficit of \u20ac1 billion a day last year.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>U.K. wants in on Brussels\u2019&nbsp;\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/267dfd88-0eda-409a-9370-21c477ef0724?syn-25a6b1a6=1\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-ccde89d0\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" data-dig-action=\"link click\" data-dig-label=\"Made in Europe\" class=\"rbc-link-format\">Made in Europe<\/a>\u201d&nbsp;policy&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-rbc-list is-style-blue-disc\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-rbc-list-item\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.K. Chancellor John Healey urged EU finance ministers to design the bloc\u2019s \u201cMade in Europe\u201d industrial policy to include Britain. The two sides have previously clashed over the policies, intended to shield the bloc\u2019s manufacturers from Chinese competition.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-legal-collapsible disclaimer\" aria-label=\"Legal Disclaimers\"><div class=\"section-inner\"><p><button class=\"collapse-toggle collapsed\" data-target=\"#collapseDisclaimer\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapseDisclaimer\" data-dig-id=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy-8631-412a6e01\" data-dig-category=\"LP-Geopolitics,TradeandtheEconomy\" data-dig-action=\"legal close\" data-dig-label=\"legal close\" action-closed=\"legal close\" action-opened=\"legal open\" label-close=\"legal open\" label-open=\"legal close\"><span>References<\/span><span>References<\/span><\/button><\/p><div class=\"collapse-content collapse\" id=\"collapseDisclaimer\"><div class=\"collapse-inner\"><div class=\"table-wpr\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-disclaimer-block\"><div class=\"table-row\" id=\"legal-1\"><div class=\"table-cell\"><span class=\"offscreen\">Legal Disclaimer<\/span><sup>1<\/sup><\/div><div class=\"table-cell\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.producer.com\/daily\/nutrien-mosaic-squeezed-as-farmers-cut-fertilizer-use-after-prices-surge\">https:\/\/www.producer.com\/daily\/nutrien-mosaic-squeezed-as-farmers-cut-fertilizer-use-after-prices-surge<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-disclaimer-block\"><div class=\"table-row\" id=\"legal-2\"><div class=\"table-cell\"><span class=\"offscreen\">Legal Disclaimer<\/span><sup>2<\/sup><\/div><div class=\"table-cell\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><sup>ii<\/sup>&nbsp;https:\/\/www.teamgmc.ca\/intelligence\/commodities\/sulphur\/&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-disclaimer-block\"><div class=\"table-row\" id=\"legal-3\"><div class=\"table-cell\"><span class=\"offscreen\">Legal Disclaimer<\/span><sup>3<\/sup><\/div><div class=\"table-cell\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data Source: Statistics Canada<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-disclaimer-block\"><div class=\"table-row\" id=\"legal-4\"><div class=\"table-cell\"><span class=\"offscreen\">Legal Disclaimer<\/span><sup>4<\/sup><\/div><div class=\"table-cell\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.argusmedia.com\/es\/news-and-insights\/latest-market-news\/2731279-alberta-sulfur-inventories-fall-as-exports-climb\">https:\/\/www.argusmedia.com\/es\/news-and-insights\/latest-market-news\/2731279-alberta-sulfur-inventories-fall-as-exports-climb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-disclaimer-block\"><div class=\"table-row\" id=\"legal-5\"><div class=\"table-cell\"><span class=\"offscreen\">Legal Disclaimer<\/span><sup>5<\/sup><\/div><div class=\"table-cell\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/static.aer.ca\/prd\/documents\/sts\/st3\/Sulphur_current.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/static.aer.ca\/prd\/documents\/sts\/st3\/Sulphur_current.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n<style class=\"advgb-styles-renderer\">@media (min-width:782px){#tl-fpb-1 .tl-featured-post-banner__gradient{background:linear-gradient(135deg, #070707, #00356300 100%);opacity:1;}}@media (max-width:781px){#tl-fpb-1{background-image:url(https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg?quality=80&w=4096)!important;background-position:50% 50%!important;background-size:cover!important;min-height:400px!important;}#tl-fpb-1 .tl-featured-post-banner__gradient{background:linear-gradient(45deg, #070707, #00356300 100%);opacity:1;}}<\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":8633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"disable_focal_point":true,"featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tl_feed_thumbnail":0,"tl_feed_thumbnail_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"rbc_tl_platform":[133],"rbc_tl_newsletter":[144],"rbc_tl_content_type":[126],"rbc_tl_author":[267,266],"class_list":["post-8631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy","rbc_tl_platform-the-trade-hub","rbc_tl_newsletter-the-trade-zone","rbc_tl_content_type-articles","rbc_tl_author-alicja-siekierska","rbc_tl_author-wilson-fink"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.2 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage - RBC Thought Leadership<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RBC Thought Leadership\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rbc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-18T21:24:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-18T21:24:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"lavanyakaleeswaran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RBC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RBC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"lavanyakaleeswaran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"lavanyakaleeswaran\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cec9995a792157ffbea0c44069edcb32\"},\"headline\":\"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-18T21:24:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-18T21:24:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":857,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/27\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Geopolitics, Trade and the Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage - RBC Thought Leadership\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/27\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-18T21:24:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-18T21:24:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Plus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/27\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/27\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg\",\"width\":7250,\"height\":3500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\\\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"RBC Thought Leadership\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/\",\"name\":\"RBC Thought Leadership\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RBC Thought Leadership\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/tl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/27\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/rbc-logo-shield_69c74f.svg?quality=80&w=1024\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/tl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/27\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/rbc-logo-shield_69c74f.svg?quality=80&w=1024\",\"width\":\"1024\",\"height\":\"1024\",\"caption\":\"RBC Thought Leadership\"},\"alternateName\":\"Royal Bank of Canada Thought Leadership\",\"description\":\"RBC Thought Leadership delivers critical insights to help businesses, policymakers, and communities make informed decisions in a changing world. From geopolitical shifts to Canadian growth and productivity, disruptive technology, and the future of skills, our research is designed to provide meaningful insights that can help drive prosperity for all Canadians.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/rbc\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RBC\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/rbc\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/RBC\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/rbc\"],\"parentOrganization\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Royal Bank of Canada\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rbc.com\\\/en\\\/thought-leadership\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage - RBC Thought Leadership","description":"Plus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage","og_description":"Plus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/","og_site_name":"RBC Thought Leadership","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rbc","article_published_time":"2026-09-18T21:24:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-18T21:24:42+00:00","author":"lavanyakaleeswaran","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg","twitter_creator":"@RBC","twitter_site":"@RBC","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"lavanyakaleeswaran","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/"},"author":{"name":"lavanyakaleeswaran","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9995a792157ffbea0c44069edcb32"},"headline":"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage","datePublished":"2026-09-18T21:24:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-18T21:24:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/"},"wordCount":857,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg","articleSection":["Geopolitics, Trade and the Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/","name":"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage - RBC Thought Leadership","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-18T21:24:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-18T21:24:42+00:00","description":"Plus: A look at Canada\u2019s trade relationship with the EU","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg","width":7250,"height":3500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/trade-zone-grappling-with-yet-another-critical-commodity-shortage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"RBC Thought Leadership","item":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trade Zone: Grappling with yet another critical commodity shortage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/","name":"RBC Thought Leadership","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/#organization","name":"RBC Thought Leadership","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/06\/rbc-logo-shield_69c74f.svg?quality=80&w=1024","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/06\/rbc-logo-shield_69c74f.svg?quality=80&w=1024","width":"1024","height":"1024","caption":"RBC Thought Leadership"},"alternateName":"Royal Bank of Canada Thought Leadership","description":"RBC Thought Leadership delivers critical insights to help businesses, policymakers, and communities make informed decisions in a changing world. From geopolitical shifts to Canadian growth and productivity, disruptive technology, and the future of skills, our research is designed to provide meaningful insights that can help drive prosperity for all Canadians.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rbc","https:\/\/x.com\/RBC","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rbc","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/RBC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/rbc"],"parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Royal Bank of Canada","url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/"}}]}},"author_meta":{"display_name":"lavanyakaleeswaran","author_link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/author\/lavanyakaleeswaran\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg?quality=80&w=300","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/category\/geopolitics-trade-and-the-economy\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Geopolitics, Trade and the Economy<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Geopolitics, Trade and the Economy<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 16 hours ago","modified":"Updated 16 hours ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on September 18, 2026","modified":"Updated on September 18, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on September 18, 2026 9:24 pm","modified":"Updated on September 18, 2026 9:24 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/09\/TZ-9.18.26_Banner-wide.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8631"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8667,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8631\/revisions\/8667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8631"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_tl_platform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_tl_platform?post=8631"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_tl_newsletter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_tl_newsletter?post=8631"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_tl_content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_tl_content_type?post=8631"},{"taxonomy":"rbc_tl_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbc_tl_author?post=8631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}