Trump suggests China quadruples imports of US soybeans
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The news: US President Donald Trump has urged China to quadruple its purchases of US soybeans to reduce its trade deficit with the US, one day before a trade truce between the two nations is due to expire.
The context: Making the request via a post on Truth Social late on Sunday evening, Trump said that China is worried about a shortage of soybeans.
“Our great farmers produce the most robust soybeans,” Trump wrote. “I hope China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders. This is also a way of substantially reducing China’s Trade Deficit with the USA. Rapid service will be provided.”
Beijing and Washington risk reimposing a slate of tariffs on each other should they fail to reach a trade agreement by Tuesday 12 August. The countries have been in talks since May when they agreed to a 90-day truce. Trump suspended US tariffs on imports from China which had climbed to 145%, while China’s paused its retaliatory levies on US goods which had reached 125%.
The numbers: The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) jumped 2.38% to USD10.11 ($15.50) a bushel at 3:37pm Sydney time on Monday after Trump's post, Reuters reports.
China imported around 105 million metric tons of soybeans last year, just under 25% coming from the US and most of the remainder from Brazil. Quadrupling shipments would require China to import the bulk of its soybeans from the US.
The sources: Trump Truth Social, Reuters, FT
