China will suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, including duties on farm goods, after last week’s meeting of the two countries’ leaders, Beijing confirmed on Wednesday, but imports of U.S. soybeans still face a 13 per cent tariff.
The U.S. is not yet ready to reopen its border to Mexican cattle amid an outbreak of the flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, but she is pleased with Mexico’s efforts to contain the pest.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of American soybeans during the current season through January and has committed to buying 25 million tons annually for the next three years as part of a larger trade agreement with Beijing.
Mexican Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue said on Wednesday that Mexico and the United States have not yet set a date to resume Mexican cattle exports amid an outbreak of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite.
U.S. data vital to global grain and soybean trading has gone dark during the country’s federal government shutdown, leaving commodity traders and farmers without crop production estimates, export sales data and market reports during the peak of the autumn harvest.
The Trump administration is expected to announce a plan as soon as Tuesday to bail out U.S. farmers stung by trade disputes and big harvests, with the initial outlay potentially totaling up to $15 billion (C$20.9 billion), according to sources familiar with the matter.