Is another U.S.-China fight on the horizon?
After two months of exchanging retaliatory tariff blows, Beijing and Washington have returned to the table and hit the pause button on levies.
But the world’s two largest economies might be in store for another spat after President Donald Trump complained on Twitter.
He tweeted:
“Mexico is doing great at the Border, but China is letting us down in that they have not been buying the agricultural products from our great Farmers that they said they would. Hopefully they will start soon!”
Mexico is doing great at the Border, but China is letting us down in that they have not been buying the agricultural products from our great Farmers that they said they would. Hopefully they will start soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019
As part of recent trade truce, China has pledged to purchase more U.S. agricultural goods, particularly soybeans. The data suggest that China is keeping up with soybean imports, even with the African swine flu epidemic that has destroyed the nation’s hog supply. The world’s second-largest economy has initiated a five-year plan to boost domestic production of soybean, while also importing more from Brazil.
America’s soybean industry has been decimated by the trade spat. Rotting inventories, surging storage costs, and bankruptcies have been the norm over the last year for soybean farmers, prompting many to transition out of soybean and into other agricultural commodities.
Leave a Comment