Trade

Last week, Financial Times writer James Politi reported that, “President Donald Trump threatened a new escalation of the trade war with China, saying US tariffs on Chinese goods would be ‘raised very substantially’ if no truce was reached with officials in Beijing.” 

Josh Zumbrun, William Mauldin and Chao Deng reported on the front page of Friday’s Wall Street Journal that, “Beijing’s announcement Thursday that the U.S. and China have mutually agreed to roll back tariffs as part of a ‘phase one’ trade accord lifted financial markets, but questions remained over how much ground—if any —the Trump administration had agreed to give.”

Reuters writers Heather Timmons and Hallie Gu reported last week that, “U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that Beijing commit to big purchases of American farm products has become a major sticking point in talks to end the Sino-U.S. trade war, according to several people briefed on the negotiations.”

Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Tatiana Freitas reported last week that, “China is clearing the way for more purchases of American soybeans in an apparent boon for U.S. farmers. There’s just one thing getting in the way — cheap Brazilian supplies.”

Reuters writer Dominique Patton reported last week that, “China is still a long way from forking out $50 billion for farm goods from the United States, agriculture industry analysts said on [Oct. 14th], cautioning that getting there is contingent on removing substantial technical and political hurdles.”

William Mauldin, Chao Deng and Vivian Salama reported in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that, “The U.S. and China took an initial step to cement a trade agreement that had been derailed, with Washington saying on Friday it would shelve a planned increase in tariffs on goods imported from China, while Beijing would increase purchases of U.S. agricultural products.”

Tom Mitchell reported on Wednesday at The Financial Times Online that, “Chinese officials are offering to increase purchases of US agricultural products as they seek an interim agreement between Beijing and Washington that will stave off a new round of tariff hikes on October 15, according to people briefed on the two countries’ ongoing negotiations.”

Bloomberg News reported last week that, “Chinese companies bought U.S. soybeans after the Xi Jinping administration issued more waivers from its retaliatory import tariffs, according to people familiar with the situation.”

Reuters writer Karl Plume reported last week that, “Chinese importers bought about 10 boatloads of U.S. soybeans on [Sept. 23rd] following deputy-level trade talks in Washington [Sept. 19th – 20th] that were overshadowed by the abrupt cancellation of a U.S. farm state visit by Chinese agriculture officials.”

Wall Street Journal writers Vivian Salama and Josh Zumbrun reported yesterday that, “President Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed a trade-enhancement agreement that will lower agricultural tariffs in Japan, industrial tariffs in the U.S. and set new rules for digital trade between the world’s first- and third-largest economies.”

Wall Street Journal writer Vivian Salama reported last week that, “President Trump said China has started to buy U.S. agricultural products, and signaled optimism that his administration will be able to sign a trade deal with China before the 2020 presidential election.”

On Thursday, Wall Street Journal writers Lingling Wei, Chao Deng and Josh Zumbrun reported that, “China is looking to narrow the scope of its negotiations with the U.S. to only trade matters, seeking to put thornier national-security issues on a separate track in a bid to break deadlocked talks with the U.S.”

Bloomberg writers Michael Hirtzer and Dominic Carey reported last week that, “The trade war between the U.S. and China continues to surprise agricultural markets, even delivering an unexpected reprieve for American farmers who have otherwise been roiled by the conflict.”

Gary Crawford explained in a segment for USDA Radio on Thursday that, “Back in May, Agricultural Department analysts were forecasting this 2019 Fiscal Year’s U.S. ag exports to be $137 billion, down $4.5 billion from their previous forecast, and down $6.3 billion from 2018…In their latest look [on Thursday], they have sliced another $2.5 billion off the forecast.”

Wall Street Journal writer Rebecca Ballhaus reported earlier this week that, “President Trump said Sunday the U.S. and Japan had reached a trade deal ‘in principle’ that would pave the way for more U.S. farm exports to Japan, while dropping the threat of increased U.S. tariffs on Japanese cars.”

Alan Rappeport and Keith Bradsher reported on the front page of Saturday’s New York Times that, “On Friday, China said it would increase tariffs on $75 billion worth of American goods, including crude oil, automobiles and farm products like soybeans, pork and corn in response to Mr. Trump’s plan to tax an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods in September and December.”

On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that some recently announced tariffs on Chinese imports would be postponed until December.  And a report this week indicated that the ongoing trade war continues to be a factor impacting the soybean market.

Today’s update features recent news items that provide background information into the long running U.S., China trade war.  Articles highlighting the trade conflict’s impact on agriculture, including ramifications on markets and farm income, are also included.

The U.S., China trade war escalated this week as news articles reported that China has halted its purchases of U.S. agricultural products.

U.S. and Chinese officials held trade talks on Wednesday in China.  News reports noted that increased purchases of U.S. agricultural products were discussed, although no significant breakthroughs were announced at the conclusion of the meeting.  Additional talks are scheduled to take place in September.  Meanwhile, recent trade data shows that big agricultural purchases by China remain elusive; and on Thursday, President Trump announced additional tariffs on Chinese imports.