US-China tariff dispute puts soybean exports at risk, ag economist says

The United States and China have threatened to increase retaliatory tariffs on each other, and an ag economist says the trade dispute could put the US soybean market at risk.

However, Ben Brown with the University of Missouri says it’s too early to know how soybean exports will be impacted. ″They’re still taking soybeans. It’s not as much as what it was earlier in the year. They’re still taking soybeans. I think the concern for soybeans is if this stays in place for a long period of time, what that could do for soybean products towards the back end of the year.″

Last week, the Trump administration imposed a 34% tariff on Chinese goods, and China responded with a similar tariff. This week, President Trump says he will increase duties by 50% on Chinese goods starting Wednesday unless China removes its retaliatory tariff.

Brown says last week’s export inspection report showed nearly half of US soybeans were entering the Chinese market. ″We had about 30 million bushels of soybeans, that’s on the top-end of our historical range for this week, and 42 percent of them were going into the Chinese market.″

Northeast Nebraska soybean farmer Greg Anderson tells Brownfield he’s hopeful the US can diversify export markets, but ″Lots of times the countries will buy on demand of just getting the crop and maybe taking a less superior product just to get a cheaper price.″

In a social media post, the President said that negotiations with other countries could take place immediately to reduce tariffs.

Brown made his comments during the latest edition of Brownfield’s Weekly Commodity Market Update with Will Robinson.