President Donald Trump calculates farmers One of the most loyal circlesBut the last step of the administration to expand the economic support of Argentina has attracted the anger of the agricultural industry.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessin said On social media On Wednesday, he and Trump spoke at length with Argentina President Javier Millie about plants to support Argentina financially to help in stabilizing them. The Treasury is negotiating with Argentina for a $ 20 billion exchange line with the Central Bank of Argentina, Pesin said on x.com. As part of its efforts to increase the flow of capital, Argentina also suspended export taxes this week, including on soybeans.
Amid negotiations with the United States, Argentina has been said to have strengthened its business with China, and whom has ordered at least 10 shipments of soybeans from the country of South America, according to ReutersThat was martyred multiple merchants.
These movements dealt with a blow to soybean farmers in the United States, who are highly dependent on exports to China, and have continued to overcome the global market due to the customs tariffs walking in the cost of their crop in the midst of the crowded harvest season.
“The frustration is overwhelming.” statement Wednesday. “The prices of American soybeans, the harvest, the ongoing, and the reading of the farmers, the headlines of the newspaper, have not been read, not to secure a commercial agreement with China, but the US government extends 200 billion dollars of economic support to Argentina while this country drops soybean export taxes to sell 20 Argentine soybeans to China in just two days.”
She concluded that “the farm economy is suffering, while our competitors replace the United States in the largest market to import soybeans in the world.”
Soybeans constituted approximately 20 % of cash crops receipts in the United States in 2024, with $ 46.8 billion, according to L. Data From the US Department of Agriculture. About a quarter of all soybeans from the United States go to China, but the reprisal customs tariffs from China as a result of the ongoing trade war – which reached 34 % – stumbled from American farmers, while South American countries such as Brazil and Argentina have achieved their share in the market. As of the year 2024, Brazil was formed 71 % of Chinese soybeans importsAccording to ASA, an increase of 2 % three decades ago.
For farmers, the driver of the changing market share is not personal, it is just a job, according to Ryan Louis, assistant and economic professor in the Department of Agriculture at Arkansas University.
“There is a lot of policy concerned, but at the end of the day, it is the job of who is the cheapest in the market,” Louis said luck.
The economic impact on the rural areas of America
This pressure on the market has a major impact on rural communities, where agriculture can compensate 20 % of the boycott work. As a global demand for Waver Us Soybeans, so, he also makes profits for farmers.
In parts of the middle west such as north, south of Dakota and Minnesota, the majority of soybeans are directed to the ports in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean to be charged abroad. But with lower charges of soybeans that are exported, the width accumulates, and leads the cost of soybeans. Since its peak 2022, soybeans prices About 40 % decreased.
While some soybeans can go to Crafts facilities To be reused as an oil or user in ethanol, there are not many soybeans near the plants capable of treating and using crops locally, Kyle Gore, an economist and farms in the Thief River Falls in the northwest of Minnesota and a secretary -made reservations in the field of transport.
“Maybe we will only plan to sit on soybeans and wait,” said Gore.
Many farmers who are trying to reduce their losses will sell soybeans to the agricultural cooperative who will buy crops, but at a much lower price than the market price.
“Meanwhile, though, producers who sell great losses,” said Gore. “They will have to feel these losses.”
The counseling specialist Louie warned of “ripples” of tense farmers in rural America.
“If the farmer does not succeed in these rural societies, if they face financial difficulties, then these rural societies are also suffering,” Louis said. “All these rural societies rely on agriculture to some extent. In their maximum, if the farmer is no longer close and companies have customers there – or at least customers do not have the money to support them – business is closed and people go out.”
The final tremors of the 2018 trade war
Jue called this feeling anxious to the well -being of the agricultural economy “Diga Fu”.
During Trump’s first administration, American farmers lost $ 27 billion in agricultural exports between mid -2018 and 2019 as a result of a trade war with China, according to 2022 a report From the US Department of Agriculture. During that same period, the American market share of Chinese soybean imports decreased to its lowest level in 30 years by 19 %, ASA said. The Brazilian market share reached its peach by 75 %. Years later, US soybean farmers did not recover luck.
Main said: “The ready -made meals we have from the last data we did. This is that the United States has lost about 20 % of our share in the market, and it is never no longer.”
While some soybeans producers have managed to compensate for revenues through various export markets such as the European Union (which generates only $ 2.45 billion of US export revenues compared to $ 12.64 billion in China, For each US Department of AgricultureThe big difference between Trump’s first trade war against this situation is the price of tools and equipment – partly due to sharp tariffs. According to August Data From the monitoring of agricultural trade at Northern Dakota State University, self -push machines such as tractors were exposed to a tariff rate of more than 15 %. The tariffs on herbal pesticides and some pesticides have paid prices by 25 %, partly due to commercial conflicts with Canada.
“Although in 2018, we used to see similar revenues, this time, we have much higher (inputs), so our margins are more negative,” said Gore.
What comes after that?
Soybean producers have become creative to try to build a profitable infrastructure outside exports to China. The Illinoi Fallo Fall has established Soy Innovation Center To develop sustainable uses of manufactured soybeans, such as oil, which can be used locally.
For its part, the White House floats on the development of an agricultural support program Using revenues from definitionsAccording to the Minister of Agriculture Brook Rollins. The Trump administration provided the first farmers 28 billion dollars rescue. But while the aid was able to replace almost missing revenues, compensation for the lost global market share is slower – and not guaranteed -. Windung Chang, associate professor of applied economics and politics at the College of Business Administration at Cornell University, said, said Windung Chang, Associate Professor of Applied Economy and Politics at the College of Business Administration at Cornell University, luck.
“It will compensate for immediate economic losses due to definitions, but it does not necessarily improve the long -term competitiveness of agriculture on the world stage,” said Zhang.
Farmers are not bankers on a rescue plan as well. They are looking for a commercial deal – or at least enough to develop their business.
“We can grow anything. What we really want is good relationships with our commercial partners,” he said. “We want the markets. We don’t want to rescue.”
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