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发帖数: 1337 | 1 China is officially over American soybeans
China did not import a single US soybean in November, the first time sales
to the country have dropped to zero since US president Donald Trump
initiated a trade war with the country earlier this year.
In place of American soybeans, China bought more than five million metric
tons of the seeds from Brazil last month, nearly twice the 2.76 million
metric tons it purchased from Brazilian farmers a year earlier, Reuters
reported, citing data from the General Administration of Customs.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping imposed a 25% tariff on US imports last July in
response to those placed on Chinese goods by president Trump. China
accounted for roughly 60% of US soybean exports during the USDA’s 2017
marketing year, which runs from September to September, in deals worth more
than $12 billion. In 2016, soybean exports to China topped $14 billion.
On December 1, president Trump and China agreed not to impose any new
tariffs for 90 days. However, the existing tariffs on US imports remain in
place. And although Beijing has made a couple of purchases of US soybeans
since—1.13 million metric tons on December 13 and 1.19 metric tons on
December 19—American farmers are looking to buyers in other regions,
including Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and other parts of Asia,
according to the Wall Street Journal.
“It’s far from a guarantee it will work,” US Soybean Export Council head
Jim Sutter told the newspaper.
China accounts for the top 10 largest single purchases of US soybeans since
record keeping started in 1977, with the biggest one, for 2,923,000 metric
tons, occurring in February 2012. In January, USDA trade counsel Jason
Hafemeister said, “China offers our best opportunity for major export
growth in the future.”
Hafemeister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The USDA has promised $12 billion in aid to US farmers hurt by the tariffs.
Still, using money that could be better spent elsewhere is a short-term fix
for an avoidable problem. Farmers “want to trade. They want to sell their
products,” said senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) over the summer. “They don’
t want to just get a check from the government.”
The American soybean market currently has “extra capacity” to increase
exports, according to the US Soybean Export Council. (Read: a glut.)
Pakistan is a potential bright spot for US soy exporters in the absence of a
viable Chinese market, it says.
USDA export data is not available during the US government shutdown, which
began just after midnight Friday when president Trump did not get funding
for his signature border wall. |
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