Trump: "China, import soybeans from the United States four times more"

China remains the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans but has recently increased imports from South America

Donald Trump, President of the United States, stated ahead of the expiration of the tariff truce with China that he hopes China will drastically increase its purchases of U.S. soybeans.

On the 11th (local time), President Trump wrote on his Truth Social account, saying, "China is concerned about a shortage of soybeans," and "I hope China will quadruple its soybean orders." He emphasized that this is "a way to significantly reduce China's trade deficit with the United States" and that the U.S. can ensure "rapid transportation."

Following President Trump's remarks, Chicago soybean futures surged by up to 2.8%, marking the largest intraday gain in four months. Corn and wheat futures also rose in tandem.

China is the largest customer for U.S. soybean farmers, with the 2024 soybean trade volume amounting to $12 billion (₩16.7 trillion). According to U.S. government data cited by Bloomberg, China is delaying bookings for soybean cargoes for the next season, which starts in September, keeping tensions between the two sides high.

Agriculture has been a core issue in the trade dispute between the two countries. During Trump's first term, China replaced American imports by purchasing agricultural products from South America and other regions amid the trade war. Although in the Phase 1 trade agreement signed during Trump's first term, China agreed to increase imports of U.S. agricultural products such as soybeans, the amount actually imported fell far short of the target.

President Trump's remarks have sparked fresh optimism that trade between the U.S. and China could recover.

The U.S. and China are approaching an August 12 deadline before the end of the trade truce, but the Trump administration has indicated it is likely this deadline will be extended.

In recent months, China has expanded soybean purchases from Brazil, its largest supplier. Additionally, China is experimentally importing soybean meal from Argentina for use as animal feed.

Vitor Pistoia, senior grains and oilseeds analyst at Rabobank, stated that there is little sign China is short of soybeans. He added, "If necessary, China could procure its entire annual supply from South America—Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay—instead of the United States."

Recently, U.S.–China trade negotiations have been challenged by issues such as imports of Russian crude oil and security vulnerabilities in NVIDIA chips.

China is also importing Russian crude oil and, last week, declared its support for Russian crude oil imports. Meanwhile, the White House is pushing to add remote location tracking functions to NVIDIA chips, and Chinese state-affiliated social media accounts have criticized the security weaknesses of these chips.

Jung-A Kim, guest reporter, kja@hankyung.com