Source: Marktimes.vn
According to research by Nikkei, Central Quoc has froze orders to buy soybeans and corn of the US since the middle of January. Beijing’s move seemed to hit an attack on the US farmer and other groups to support US President Donald Trump. Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has increased import tax with China and many other trading partners.
Data of the US Department of Agriculture shows that from January 16, a few days before Mr. Trump took office, Chinese companies did not make any additional orders for soybeans and corn of the US. Some contracts do not specify the destination, but there are many orders from Chinese businesses every month until December.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump pledged to impose a 60% tax on all Chinese products imported into the United States. Until April this year, the Trump administration increased taxes on Chinese goods to 145%.
China reacted to a new tax rate published by Mr. Trump. The second largest economy in the world applies an additional tax rate of up to 15 percentage points for soy, corn, chicken and other American products.
For Beijing, Brazil plays an alternative to the US.
The President of the Brazilian Soybean Association Mauricio Buffon told Nikkei that in early April, China signed a contract for at least 2.4 million tons in a week. He said that this unusually large order was 1/3 of the amount of goods that China usually imports in 1 month.
Since the war with the United States began, China has reduced its dependence on soy -made soybeans. In 2017, the US provided nearly 40% of China’s imports. But by 2024, that figure has decreased to about 20%. Meanwhile, the amount of soy produced by Brazil has increased from 50% in 2017 to 70%.
Hideki Hattorori cereal analyst at Nippn Company of Japan said that the demand for Brazilian soybeans is increasing sharply because they are “less at risk of increasing prices and shortage than American products”.
Beijing is trying to cut the import of other US agricultural products. According to statistics published by the General Department of Customs on April 20, calculated by USD, the amount of imported cotton has decreased by 90% in March compared to the same period last year. For American wheat, China in the first quarter only imported 1% of the purchased amount of the same period last year.
The move to cut imports also spread to natural resources. China imports less than 30% of crude oil from the US in the first quarter.
Beijing’s actions make US farmers worried. The President of the American Soybean Association Caleb Ragland wrote to the White House, urging the Trump administration to negotiate with China soon and reach an agreement.
According to the association, Trump’s first term of trade has led US $ 26 billion to the US agriculture industry when it lost more than 10% of the market share in China.
