China is firing on all cylinders as it ramps up its trade war with the US

pulse

May 3, 2018 4:45 PM

China is slowing down imports of US soybeans, a key crop for American farmers. :"They're buying beans in Canada, in Brazil, mostly Brazil, but very deliberately not buying anything from the US," one soybean processor told Bloomberg.

In March and April, China imposed tariffs on US soybeans in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Soybeans are an important US agricultural export, and a majority of those exports go to China.
Soren Schroder, CEO of oilseed processor Bunge, told Bloomberg that China is "very deliberately not buying anything from the US."
The drop off in Chinese purchases of US soybeans is worrying for US farmers.
It shows the trade war between the US and China is heating up.

China is signaling that it won't back down from a trade battle with President Donald Trump and the US.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the CEO of one of the largest soybean processors in the world said China has effectively ended purchases of US soybeans — a critical export crop.

The apparent shift is bolstered by the fact that the current South American harvest season is in full swing, while the US harvest primarily comes in the back half of the year. But such an extreme drop off is notable.

Soybeans are an important agricultural export for US farmers, and China is the crop's main destination. According to the US Department of Agriculture, 61.2% of total US soybean exports worth a whopping $14.2 billion went to China in 2016. According to the USDA, soybeans are the most valuable agriculture export for the US, making up roughly 9% of all US exports by value.

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