Escalating Trade War with China Will Increase Damage to American Soybean Farmers

The Administration’s decision to impose 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese imports—and China’s subsequent retaliation on $60 billion of U.S. products—deepens and prolongs the trade war between the two countries, posing even more adverse consequences for American soybean farmers. Davie Stephens, a soybean grower from Clinton, Kentucky, and American Soybean Association (ASA) vice president stated, “If …

China Predicted to cut U.S. Soybean exports

China’s exports of U.S. soybeans are expected to plummet over the next marketing year, according to the latest forecast. A soybean crushing industry executive told Reuters this week that China will almost entirely replace its soybean imports from the United States with Brazilian beans and other origins in the upcoming season. The latest forecast from China predicts Imports from the …

USDA Launches Trade Mitigation Programs

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue launched the trade mitigation package aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations.  Producers of certain commodities can now sign up for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), while USDA will also begin to purchase identified commodities under a food purchase and distribution program.  Additionally, USDA has begun …

Agriculture Trade Surplus to Shrink

Agriculture is consistently one of the few areas of the American economy that sells more overseas than it buys. However, Farm Journal’s Ag Web Dot Com says that’s going to drop in the upcoming year. The surplus is set to shrink as shipments to China collapse because of the trade war with the U.S. A government forecast says the world’s …

Assistance for Farmers Impacted by Unjustified Retaliation

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced details of actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation by foreign nations. President Donald J. Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the administration works on free, fair and reciprocal trade deals …

Brazil to Plant Record Soy Crop for 2018/19

Farmers from Brazil are expected to plant another record soybean crop. This would be the 12th consecutive year that Brazil plants a record land area of soybeans, amid strong demand from Asia. Reuters reports that Brazil is likely to expand the area to a record 36.28 million hectares, the equivalent to 89.65 million acres, this season, which farmers will start …

U.S., China, Far Apart in Trade War Talks

A Chinese delegation will travel to the U.S. as part of the ongoing trade war as both sides “remain far apart.” China said Thursday the delegation will meet with U.S. Treasury Undersecretary David Malpass to discuss trade issues. However, the South China Morning Post reports observers say the talks are unlikely to yield any breakthrough, but could lead to further …