Tariffs reduced U.S. ag exports to China by almost $15 billion between March 2025 and February 2026
A report is shedding light on how the trade war between the U.S. and China has affected American ag exports to that country.
The May 2026 North Dakota State University Agricultural Trade Monitor looked at the timeframe between March 2025 through February 2026.
“At the center of the analysis is the scale of the disruption,” the report says. “Over the one-year window, China’s retaliatory tariffs reduced U.S. agricultural exports by an estimated $14.9 billion on an annualized basis.”
For context, Belgium’s total ag exports for 2024 were valued at $14 billion.
On a commodity level, soybeans experienced the highest loss.
With tariffs greatly reducing access to America’s biggest soybean market, exports of soybeans to China dropped by about $6.80 billion between March 2025 and February 2026.
Beef and related products had the second highest losses at $1.34 billion.
“Export losses intensified during the active tariff period from March through November 2025, when the Reciprocal tariff rate peaked as high as 125 percent before being partially reduced under the May Geneva agreement,” the report says.
And on a state level, three states had similar drops in ag exports to China.
Illinois, Iowa, and California each saw ag exports to China reduced by about $1.2 billion each.
Texas was the next highest with $907 million in ag export losses.