Trump Panics as China’s Soybean Freeze Hits US Farmers Hard

Trump has now found himself in an uncomfortable spot: American farmers are howling over China’s refusal to buy US soybeans, a crisis that is hitting the Republican heartland the hardest.

On October 1, local time, Trump announced he was preparing for a “major topic of discussion” with President Xi Jinping at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to demand that China restart its soybean purchases.

Trump vows a soybean showdown with Xi at APEC. (AP Photo)

Trump’s Social Media Bluster

True to form, Trump took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to blame China for the farmers’ woes, claiming Beijing was using “negotiations” as an excuse not to buy. He declared his administration would direct part of US tariff revenues into subsidies for farmers while accusing former president Joe Biden of failing to enforce an earlier multibillion-dollar trade agreement with Beijing that promised more farm exports. Trump ended his rant with the slogan: “MAKE SOYBEANS, AND OTHER ROW CROPS, GREAT AGAIN!!”

The high-stakes APEC meeting will be held in Gyeongju, South Korea, from October 31 to November 1. Back on September 22, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for the China-US relations. The presidents of China and the US maintain close exchanges and communication” and "The two sides are in communication”. However, “I have no information to share at the moment,” said the MFA spokesperson.

Trump’s fiery post sent ripples through the market. According to Bloomberg, US soybean futures spiked 1.9% before slipping back, their sharpest daily swing since late August.

The report also noted that only a day earlier, Republican senators vented their frustration during a meeting with US Ambassador to China David Perdue, warning that Beijing was unlikely to resume soybean purchases soon and blasting the lack of a long-term US strategy.

The problem for Trump is obvious: farming states, for long a Republican stronghold, are being hammered by the collapse of the export market. With federal subsidies shrinking, America’s rural communities are under immense strain—turning into a political headache for Trump’s party ahead of next year’s midterm elections. GOP lawmakers from the agricultural heartland are now pressing harder than ever for Trump to cut a deal with Beijing.

China Holds the Cards

As the world’s largest soybean buyer, China wields enormous influence. US Department of Agriculture data shows that by mid-September, weeks into the new sales year, China had not booked a single cargo of American soybeans—the first time this has ever happened since records began in 1999. Last year, China bought over $12 billion worth of US soybeans, accounting for more than half of America’s soybean exports.

But Trump’s go-it-alone tariff war has backfired badly on his own farmers. Traders note that suspending tariff hikes won’t help much when China still imposes a 23% duty on American soybeans. By comparison, Argentina and Brazil enjoy tariffs of only 3%. Argentina has even scrapped its grain export taxes temporarily, making its soybeans cheaper still.

China’s tariffs make US soybeans uncompetitive against Brazil and Argentina. (AP Photo)

Farmers Feeling the Pain

The White House has started to realize the political cost. On September 25, Trump promised reporters in the Oval Office that tariff revenues would be redirected to farmers, insisting they are “for a little while going to be hurt, until it kicks in, the tariffs kick in to their benefit,” and “Ultimately, the farmers are going to be making a fortune.”

Yet for America’s farmers, the promise of eventual benefits remains abstract, while their mounting losses are very real. Axios reported that farmers now face between $100 and $150 in losses per acre.

To add to Trump’s troubles, Bloomberg pointed out that his “tariff cash for farmers” scheme could collapse in court. His tariffs, imposed under emergency powers, were already ruled unlawful by a lower court. If the Supreme Court upholds that ruling, the federal government may be forced to refund tens of billions of dollars in collected tariffs—a devastating blow to Trump’s trade war narrative.

Deep Throat

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

On 21 February, U.S. President Donald Trump posted to his Truth Social platform with a pointed announcement: he would team up with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to dispatch a large medical vessel to Greenland, citing the plight of "many people who are sick and not being taken care of there." Trump claimed the ship was already en route. However, his plan was rejected by Denmark, so was his claim that sick people in Greenland were not taken care of.

The reality is, anyone who has been tracking Chinese diplomacy over the past year would recognize this playbook instantly. On 5 September 2025, the Chinese Navy's hospital ship Silk Road Ark departed Quanzhou, Fujian Province, bound for the South Pacific and Latin America to execute Mission Harmony 2025 — a sustained, documented humanitarian deployment that Trump's announcement conspicuously mirrors.

The results have been concrete and verifiable: officers and crew have delivered medical services to communities across South America, with cumulative outpatient visits reaching 22,000.

According to a CCTV report dated the 22nd, the Silk Road Ark has been navigating the Eastern Pacific for over 20 consecutive days. During the Lunar New Year holiday, the ship's command overhauled its food storage and temperature-controlled preservation systems — all to ensure officers and crew could sit down to a fresh, nutritious New Year's Eve dinner. The kitchen team, it turns out, had a few tricks up their sleeves.

Ingenuity in the Pacific

Make no mistake: ocean voyages present brutal logistical challenges, and fresh soy products are among the first casualties of long resupply intervals. So squad leader Ban Hangyuan — nicknamed "Tofu Sergeant" by his crewmates — improvised. He soaked soybeans, ground them into a slurry, boiled and filtered the liquid, then used purified seawater to slowly coagulate the curd. After pressing it into moulds and letting it set for an hour, smooth, silky-white "Silk Road Ark"-brand "seawater tofu" came straight out of the mould — and promptly became the most popular signature dishes among the crew.

Though the ship sailed 13 time zones from home, a spirit of reunion filled every corner of the vessel. On New Year's Eve, the dining hall was decked with lanterns and streamers, warm with the full flavour of the season. A steaming banquet — ten auspicious dishes, balanced between meat and vegetables and rich in nutrition — was served hot, and the crew raised their glasses in toast.

To date, the Silk Road Ark has visited six countries — Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, Jamaica, Barbados, and Brazil — with technical port calls in Nicaragua and Uruguay. The cumulative tally: 22,148 outpatient consultations, 2,417 surgeries, 120 inpatient admissions, and 12 medical exchange sessions. Each stop has deepened China's friendly medical cooperation with the countries visited.