How China weaponized soybeans to squeeze U.S. farmers -- and spite Trump - WaPo
The start of the harvest in September is usually when China, the world’s biggest importer of soybeans, puts in a flurry of orders to the farms of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana. This year, however, Chinese importers aren’t buying. In retaliation for President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Beijing has cut off Midwestern farmers from their largest and most lucrative overseas customer: China accounted for half — or $12.6 billion — of U.S. soybean exports last year.
But while American farmers lobby Trump to get them back into China, there isn’t similar pressure within China for the government to allow purchases from U.S. suppliers. That “gives Beijing a great deal of negotiating leverage,” Pay said. On Tuesday, Trump took to social media to call China’s decision to not buy U.S. soybeans “an Economically Hostile Act” and said the U.S. was considering “terminating” buying cooking oil from China as retribution. But Beijing has shrugged off Trump’s threats. Analysts say it is ready to extend the purchasing freeze for the rest of the year.
China consumes far more soybeans than any other country in the world, but it grows less than a fifth of what it needs — just enough to cover all the tofu and soy sauce used in Chinese cooking. It buys everything else from abroad — importing more than the rest of the world combined — and the U.S. has traditionally been one of its top suppliers.
Those imported beans mostly feed huge numbers of pigs, chickens and other livestock, as meat consumption by wealthier Chinese families has grown rapidly. Despite efforts to develop alternatives, soybeans accounted for 13 percent of animal feed in 2023.
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