U.S.-China soybean spats grow over tariffs

U.S. soybean farmers are preparing for the impacts of losing China as a major buyer. Watch to learn more.

A trade spat between the U.S. and China over soybeans is starting to grow.

Amid U.S. president Trump’s tariffs, China’s counter-duties on U.S. produced soybeans rose to 20 percent.

In 2024 China purchased 49 percent of all U.S. soybean exports, amounting to $12.6 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Agriculture.

But this fall is on track to be the first time in two decades that Chinese importers have bought no American soybeans.

The decline has been building for months.

Exports to China plummeted 39 percent in volume between January and July of 2025 compared to the same period last year, the latest government data shows.

American farmers are worrying about the impact.

"China has been our biggest customer for soybeans exports, so if we lose their market, we've got to go create new ones. So it's easier to maintain a market that you already have than creating demand in a new market and everything. So we'd like to keep working with them," said Travis Hutchison, a soybean farmer in Cordova, Maryland.

Trump has vowed to support farmers by allocating tariff revenue to mitigate their financial losses.

Meanwhile China in turning to South America for its top source of soybeans.

From January to August 2025, Brazil, the world’s largest soybean exporter, shipped a record-breaking nearly 2.5 billion bushels, with 76 percent of its total exports going to China.

Argentina also moved quickly to attract Chinese business, briefly suspending its soybean export taxes in September to make its offers more competitive.

For American farmers, the situation is a threat to a long-standing trade relationship they hope can be salvaged.

“We're in the farming game for the long-term, so we'd like to see them get the trade war settled and get a good solution for everybody involved and everything, so we can have a long-term partner and know we're good for the future and everything," Hutchinson said.

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