Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Sep 29
China Cuts US Crop Tariffs but Excludes $13 Billion Soybean Trade
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Sep 29

China Cuts US Crop Tariffs but Excludes $13 Billion Soybean Trade

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Sep 29

Summary

  • Crop traders are still struggling to gauge whether China’s new tariff cuts on US agricultural goods will lift demand for major grains in the near term.
  • Soybeans — the biggest US farm export to China, worth about $13 billion annually in recent years — were left out, limiting the immediate upside for overall US crop sales.
  • Chinese demand for imported corn and wheat has already been weakened by sluggish economic growth, blunting the effect of lower tariffs on those markets.
  • The cuts also cannot take effect immediately because both countries must first complete domestic legal procedures, leaving the timing of any demand response uncertain.

Insights

With soybeans excluded and China’s grain imports already weak, can tariff cuts really revive U.S. corn and wheat sales?
China cut tariffs on many U.S. farm goods, so why are grain traders still unconvinced demand will rebound?