The China-US trade talks in Madrid just wrapped up, and Treasury Secretary Bessent—who led the American delegation—probably wishes he could forget the whole thing. The guy must've been sweating bullets the entire time, and for good reason.
Here's a story that perfectly captures the mess Trump created: two brothers in North Dakota who've been farming soybeans for 76 years just watched their biggest customer—China—completely stop buying their crops. Their 930-hectare farm, as New York Times puts it, is “projected to lose $400,000 in 2025”. Mountains of soybeans that should've been shipped to Asia are instead rotting in giant steel silos.
When Actions Meet Consequences
China and America could've kept doing business just fine, but Trump had other plans. The moment he slapped tariffs on Chinese goods back in February, Beijing hit back exactly where it would hurt most—American soybeans. And why wouldn't they? It was proportionate retaliation, plain and simple.
NYT went on: “In a typical year, more than half the soybeans grown in the United States are sold to China. That includes around 70% of North Dakota’s soy-beans…But Trump’s trade war with China has changed that dynamic. After the president imposed tariffs on the goods of that country on the grounds that its economic practices threaten US national security, Beijing retaliated with tariffs of its own.”
The New York Times laid out just how brutal things have gotten for soybean farmers, but here's the kicker—there's an even bigger victim in this whole saga: Treasury Secretary Bessent himself.
The Treasury Secretary's Not-So-Secret Problem
Turns out Bessent owns thousands of acres of farmland in North Dakota, worth a cool $25 million. This land grows soybeans and corn—you know, the stuff that used to get exported to China. According to his financial disclosures, these investments were pulling in up to $1 million annually in rental income.
Sure, for a former hedge fund manager worth hundreds of millions, losing a million bucks might be pocket change. But for the actual farmers working the land? They're staring down financial ruin.
So here's the wild part—after getting hammered by Trump's trade war, will farmers finally turn on him? Not likely. As BBC puts it, “A survey by Pew last month found that 53% of rural Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, far higher than the 38% figure for the country as a whole.” Why? “For some farmers at the state fair, the explanation is simple: they believe the US president when he tells them that tariffs will help them in the long run.”
In BBC’s article “US farmers are being squeezed”, John Maxwell, a dairy farmer and cheese producer from Iowa expressed his support and beliefs. "We think the tariffs eventually will make us great again," says John.
"We were giving China a lot, and [previously] we paid tariffs when we sold to them. Let's make it fair. What's good for the goose is good for the other goose."
So what's Trump's master plan? Well, in August he took to social media to personally appeal to China's leadership, demanding China to quadruple its soybean purchases. His post basically said: "Our great farmers produce the most robust soybeans." Seriously, that was his strategy.
But China wasn't about to fall for Trump's stand-up comedy routine. They'd come prepared.
China's Countermove
After America's "Liberation Day" stunt, Bloomberg reported in mid-April that “China just scooped up an unusually large amount of Brazilian soybeans, highlighting how the escalating trade war is making purchases of US crops unviable.”
“At least 2.4 million tons of beans were booked earlier this week, almost one-third of the average volume China typically crushes in a month”, people “familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg News, “They noted that the buying spree was unusually large and fast.”
Caleb Ragland, the chairman of the American Soybean Association published a desperate plea through media outlets, begging Trump not to plunge the voter base that “helped reelect him in overwhelming numbers“ and to reach a deal with China ASAP. His conclusion was stark: "Now, because of the trade war with China, I’m worried we could be out of business by 2027."
A Family Tragedy
From China's perspective, this whole mess looks like a family tragedy—like the ancient tale of Cao Pi mistreating his brother Cao Zhi, showing zero regard for brotherly bonds. The farmers who voted for Trump are closer than brothers, yet he's asking them to risk bankruptcy to support his policies while casually telling China to "come take a look at our beautiful American soybeans." Does he really think that'll work?
Farmers are facing creditors at their doors—they need solutions faster than composing a seven-step poem, Mr. President! The soybean situation is critical, and not everyone can stay as calm as the Treasury Secretary with his deep pockets. Figure something out—China's always willing to negotiate.
Deep Blue
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