Trump-Xi Meeting to Address Soybean Crisis Amid Ongoing US-China Trade Tensions

The upcoming talks follow a period of escalating tariffs between Washington and Beijing earlier this year.

President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday his intention to address Chinese soybean purchases with President Xi Jinping during their scheduled meeting, as American farmers continue to struggle with the consequences of ongoing trade tensions.

"The Soybean Farmers of our Country are being hurt because China is, for 'negotiating' reasons only, not buying," Trump stated on his Truth Social platform.

"I'll be meeting with President Xi, of China, in four weeks, and Soybeans will be a major topic of discussion," he continued.

Trump previously announced that he would meet with Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea scheduled for late October. He also mentioned plans to visit China next year.

These discussions come in the wake of a tariff exchange between Washington and Beijing earlier this year, during which both nations imposed increasing duties on each other's exports.

Although both countries have agreed to reduce tensions, the truce remains fragile with ongoing repercussions.

On Wednesday, Trump reaffirmed his plan to allocate some US tariff revenues to support farmers, while criticizing former President Joe Biden for failing to enforce an earlier trade agreement with Beijing that included increased agricultural purchases.

Trump's aggressive trade policies have negatively impacted US farmers, particularly by disrupting export markets such as China.

The American Soybean Association (ASA) has urged Trump to make soybeans a priority in trade negotiations with Beijing.

In August, the organization warned that Beijing's retaliatory tariffs are "shutting American farmers out of their largest export market going into the 2025 soybean harvest."

China ranks as a top global soybean purchaser, with the United States previously serving as a major supplier to the world's second-largest economy.

However, "the US has made zero sales to China in this new crop marketing year due to 20-percent retaliatory tariffs imposed by China in response to US tariffs," ASA President Caleb Ragland stated last week.

"This has allowed other exporters, Brazil and now Argentina, to capture our market at the direct expense of US farmers," he added in a statement.

"The frustration is overwhelming," he concluded.

During Trump's first administration, aid was provided to farmers as his previous trade war severely reduced exports to what had been a significant market for US soybeans and pork, among other agricultural products.

During Trump's initial presidency, retaliatory tariffs against the United States resulted in more than $27 billion in US agricultural export losses from mid-2018 to late-2019.