The Trump administration is again planning an aid package in response to the current trade dispute. President Trump recently posted on social media: “The soybean farmers of our country are being hurt because China is, for ‘negotiating’ reasons only, not buying. We’ve made so much money on tariffs, that we are going to take a small portion of that money, and help our farmers.”

That may be welcome relief in the short term, but it does little to repair trade relations. Soybean farmers are already concerned there has been irreparable damage to a vital export customer. Adding alarm to the lost soybean sales is Brazil. It has surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest soybean producer. China turned to Brazil when President Trump launched his first trade war. World Bank data shows Brazilian beans last year accounted for more than 70% of China’s imports; U.S. share was down to 21%. Competition with Brazil will only increase as it continues to expand soybean acres.

TIME IS NOW

The Trump administration’s call for increasing domestic soybean demand via biofuels and new uses, for example, and cultivating new export markets certainly makes sense to boost sales, but that will take time. And, neither can replace China in one shot.

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were scheduled to meet at the end of October. Agricultural trade needs to be at the top of their agenda. It’s time to bring down the bluster and posturing, and get a deal done. Trade wars benefit no one.

“The longer trade disputes continue, unfortunately, the more storm clouds gather over farm country,” stresses American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “Farmers can face long-term effects because of the uncertainty and disruptions that tariffs bring. Many countries may decide to simply buy agricultural products elsewhere, and it can be difficult to recover those markets once they’re lost.”

Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer and president of the American Soybean Association (ASA), agrees. “U.S. farmers cannot wait and hope any longer,” he stressed in a press release. “ASA is calling on President Trump and his negotiating team to prioritize securing an immediate deal on soybeans with China. The farm economy is suffering while our competitors supplant the United States in the biggest soybean import market in the world.”

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— Email Gregg Hillyer at gregg.hillyer@dtn.com, or follow Gregg on social platform X @GreggHillyer

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