Donald Trump has vowed to confront Chinese President Xi Jinping over Beijing’s refusal to buy American soybeans, which has put the squeeze on farmers in MAGA heartland.
As frustrations escalate across rural America, the U.S. president will meet Xi later this month at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, where soybeans will be central to their talks.
“The Soybean Farmers of our Country are being hurt because China is, for “negotiating” reasons only, not buying,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“I’ll be meeting with President Xi, of China, in four weeks, and Soybeans will be a major topic of discussion. MAKE SOYBEANS, AND OTHER ROW CROPS, GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump’s comments come as farmers grapple with the fallout from his trade wars.
While China has historically been a top buyer of U.S. soybeans, American tariffs have led the country to place a retaliatory tariff on the U.S, with Beijing now increasingly turning to South America for its produce.
But farmers have warned that the lack of purchases could be devastating for them, particularly at a time when fertilizer and other goods have become more expensive, potentially even leading to bankruptcies and foreclosures.
“We’re in the middle of the worst economic downturn that I’ve seen in my 50 years,” John Hansen, the president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, said at a regional meeting in Nebraska, last week.
The issue is politically sensitive for the administration, as many of the farms affected are in Republican states.
Tensions spilled over this week after the U.S. offered a $20 billion bailout to stabilize Argentina’s economy—and the political future of Trump ally and embattled President Javier Milei—only for Argentina to remove its exports on soybeans and strike a new deal with China.
A photo snapped by The Associated Press of a text message sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during last week’s United Nations General Assembly encapsulated the anger.
The text was sent from a contact named “BR”—presumed to be Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins—with a link to the X account of grain trader Ben Scholl, who has sounded the alarm on what a bailout could mean.
“Just a heads up. I am getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate,” the message said.
“We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, the Argentine’s (sic) removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price to China at a time when we would normally be selling to China.”
“Soy prices are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us,” the message added. “On a plane but Scott I can call you when I land.”
Trump announced last month that he would meet Xi at the upcoming APEC summit and would likely visit the Chinese leader in his home country next year.
At the time, however, he did not mention confronting him about buying more soybeans.
In his post on Wednesday, Trump accused his predecessor, Joe Biden, of failing to “enforce” a soybean purchase agreement that Trump inked with China during his first term.
He also reiterated his proposal to use tariff revenue to fund a yet-to-be-announced bailout package for struggling farmers.
“It’s all going to work out very well,” Trump posted. “I LOVE OUR PATRIOTS, AND EVERY FARMER IS EXACTLY THAT!”
