China agrees to increase U.S. ag imports

The two sides have resumed trade talks

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

American farmers could benefit from ongoing negotiations between the Trump administration and one of the country’s largest trading partners.

China and the U.S. have agreed to “meaningful increases” in American ag exports, a joint statement from the two countries said on Saturday. China has also committed to increasing its U.S. energy imports, the statement said.

President Trump promoted the agreements on social media.

“China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products – would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!” he tweeted.

“Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce.”

In April, China announced 25 percent import tariffs on many U.S. ag goods. These tariffs covered such commodities as soybeans, wheat, corn and sorghum.

The recent announcement of increased U.S. ag exports to China is a good start, but farmers would like to see tangible results to have full confidence in the discussions.

“I think a good sign of good negotiations would be some (soybean) shipments to come from the United States (to China) in the next week or month,” John Heisdorffer, president of the American Soybean Association, told CNBC today.

China is also terminating its 179 percent tariffs on U.S. sorghum imports.

A Chinese investigation found that “the livelihood of many farmers is facing difficulties,” therefore taking import actions against U.S. sorghum is “not in the public interest,” said a May 19 statement from China’s commerce ministry.

American sorghum growers are pleased to have regained access to an important export market.

“National Sorghum Producers (NSP) is gratified by this announcement and this quick result, which is a win for China and a win for America’s sorghum farmers,” Don Bloss, chairman of the NSP, said in a statement on Friday. “We agree that it is in China’s public interest to terminate these cases, and we look forward to deepening our trade ties with our Chinese partners and customers.”

Video: 90-Day Pause & Lower U.S. Tariffs with China has avoided the “Black Hole.”

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