In a sign of easing trade tensions, China announced it will not impose additional tariffs on U.S. soybeans and other agricultural products and plans to resume imports of American crops, recently making its first large purchase of soybeans in months.
Both gestures appear to be good news for Louisiana soybean farmers, who have taken a direct hit as a result of the U.S.-China trade war, but it doesn’t mean the hurt is over.
“We’re cautiously optimistic with this news,” says Andy Brown, soybean commodity director for the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. “There will be no additional tariffs, but we still have pretty high duties on these products.”
And while China has resumed purchases, farmers are “still looking for a complete trade deal,” Brown says, rather than sporadic peace offerings.
China’s decision to not impose additional agricultural tariffs comes in response to President Donald Trump’s recent postponement of higher tariffs on Chinese goods, according to The Wall Street Journal. High-level trade talks are set to take place early next month, so Trump decided Wednesday to delay his tariff increase until Oct. 15
Soybeans are Louisiana’s largest commodity in terms of acreage, and China has long been the state’s largest export market, so the trade war has been particularly difficult for the Louisiana agriculture industry. Soybean farmers have seen prices drop below $9 per bushel, barely enough to break even on their investments, and down from $10 per bushel before the U.S.-China dispute began.
“We certainly want China back,” Brown says. “We’ll sit back and hope the president and his administration can make a better deal.”
