China did not signal any plan to lower tariffs on US soybeans following last month's US-China summit. Soybeans were not included in the list of goods worth 30 billion dollars targeted for tariff reductions that the two governments published after the meeting, and the American Soybean Association, a producers' group, made no secret of its disappointment. China is the largest export destination for US soybeans, but intensifying trade war has cost US producers market share to Brazilian supplies, and with the additional 10 percent tariff still in place, Chinese private buyers may keep hesitating to purchase. China indicated it intends to lower tariffs on US corn and wheat, but demand is seen as limited, and Nippon's chief grain analyst Hideki Hattori analyzes that China likely wants to hold soybeans in reserve as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with the United States. In the United States, now in harvest season, diesel prices have surged amid turmoil in the Middle East, and according to AAA, the average price as of the 2nd was about 6.37 dollars per gallon, up roughly 70 percent from a year earlier, prompting American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall to ask President Trump for support including a cut in the diesel tax.
NIPPN CorporationChina left the 10% tariff on US soybeans in place and excluded them from the $30B tariff-cut list, keeping Chinese buyers hesitant and pressuring US soybean demand.
