A granary in Illinois' Iroquois County literally exploded under the pressure of unsold soybeans, spilling the beans everywhere and sending farmers running for cover. This violent collapse is the physical manifestation of a deeper crisis: the total collapse of US soybean exports to China—a catastrophic blow to American agriculture.
US Soybean Oversupply Blows Up Granary. Screenshot from X Video.
The collapse happened after prolonged stockpiling of the new-season soybeans. Local fire departments had already flagged cracks in the structure, but the massive weight of stored beans overwhelmed these warnings. Video footage shows farmers fleeing a torrent of soybeans pouring out like flooding.
Click to Gallery
US Soybean Oversupply Blows Up Granary. Screenshot from X Video.
Soybean granary collapses, beans flooding out. Screenshot from X Video.
Dozens of farmers flee the scene in panic. Screenshot from X Video.
Soybean granary collapses, beans flooding out. Screenshot from X Video.
Midwestern farmers face a crushing dilemma. Despite soybeans being harvested at peak season, the market is stagnant, mainly because exports to the China have dropped by a staggering 100% this year, and global exports fell by 65%. This vanishing market is the result of trade sanctions from the US and retaliatory tariffs from China, which drove the biggest Asian buyer away.
Dozens of farmers flee the scene in panic. Screenshot from X Video.
Farm bankruptcies are skyrocketing. Data from US courts reveal 93 farms filed for bankruptcy in Q2 of this year, the highest in four years. Farms are no longer just vulnerable to market swings—they are collapsing under financial stress. The Illinois granary disaster sharply illustrates this pressure.
Trade War Fallout
President Trump publicly acknowledged in October that farmers are "severely hit" by the trade conflict and pledged to discuss soybean exports with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit. He said that China stopped buying soybeans as a negotiation tactic, passing the ultimate cost to American farmers.
Trump. AP File Photo.
The Trump administration's tariff pressure failed spectacularly. Rather than coaxing China into buying more, the US lost its largest soybean customer entirely. China pivoted instantly to Brazil and Argentina, who quickly ramped up supply, leaving American farmers with evaporated market share.
The American Soybean Association has sounded the alarm. This year's soybean exports to China hit zero, while retaliatory tariffs stand at 20%, sealing off US farmers from their biggest market. The emotional toll is immense, with farmers expressing critical frustration.
Trump's promise to subsidize farmers from tariff revenues is a temporary bandaid. The real sickness lies in America’s sneaking decline in the global agricultural supply chain, with political leaders treating farmers as collateral damage for diplomatic chess games.
Declining Leadership
The US once dominated global agriculture, especially soybeans, which China bought as much as 60% of exported volume after joining the WTO. That stable relationship collapsed rapidly, shattering trust along with trade figures.
Today, China gets most of its soybeans from South America. Brazil and Argentina boosted port capacity, improved soybean varieties, and scaled output rapidly. Meanwhile, US farm infrastructure is aging, trade deals are shaky, and over-reliance on fragile diplomatic ties leaves no room for recovery if relations sour.
American farmers are powerless to change foreign policy or global market turmoil. They watch soybeans spoil in full granaries and pile up debt notices from banks, while patriotic talk of "national interest" masks the sheer anxiety and debt burden on the ground.
Deep Throat
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
Last Friday, Trump flat-out torpedoed a much-anticipated zero-emissions deal for the global shipping industry, smashing it apart at the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Financial Times lays it all bare: to kill the net-zero shipping pact, Trump didn’t just lean on the usual diplomatic muscle—Washington went full gangster. Think raised port fees, outright bans on ships passing through America, and direct threats, and even personal intimidation of diplomats and their families, with entry bans waved in their faces like warning flags.
The Financial Times lays it out: over a dozen diplomats, foreign officials, and industry insiders watched the US throw diplomacy in the mud at last month’s London summit. Washington came armed with bullying tactics, determined to smash the net-zero shipping pact by brute force.
US Bullying Blocks IMO’s Green Shipping Deal—Vote Delayed a Year. IMO website image.
US officials didn’t bother with backroom deals—they stalked the halls, cornering diplomats from Africa, the Pacific, and the Caribbean. The message was simple: cross the United States, and your ships might not reach America. Rock the boat, and your family could be locked out. These weren’t idle whispers. The intimidation played out in broad daylight during coffee breaks.
Social Media Taunts, Policy Upends
Trump didn’t bother hiding his true feelings. On social media, he slammed the agreement as a “global green shipping tax scam.” But this wasn’t just venting. In April, most countries had already green-lit the framework. It was set to become real policy—until Trump’s team blew it up, forcing a one-year “pause.” The global momentum froze on the spot.
One diplomat cut to the heart of it: “It’s like the streets of New York.” His country got the warning firsthand—keep backing the deal, and watch your sailors’ visas disappear. US port fees? Those would rise too. Another attendee was even more blunt: IMO bigwigs were left gobsmacked. “It’s like dealing with the mafia,” they said. “You don’t need details. You just know: cross us, and you’ll pay.”
The US State Department kept mum on the intimidation claims. Instead, American officials handed out praise to Greece and Cyprus. Those two broke rank from the rest of the EU—they cast abstention votes in the big one-year adjournment, even after they already gave the framework the green light back in April.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ahead of the IMO meeting in London, issued a joint statement with senior Trump officials warning that the administration was "evaluating sanctions on officials sponsoring activist-driven climate policies that would burden American consumers, among other measures under consideration." As Greece and Cyprus sided with the U.S., much of Europe—and the world—reacted with surprise.
Global Rules or American Muscle?
Chatham House’s head of global economy Creon Butler didn’t mince words. The US, he said, has ditched long-standing diplomatic etiquette. Instead, Washington's now muscling countries into backing its stance—especially on climate.
America Threatens: Support This, Your Crews and Ports Pay.
“In the very short term this might work, but in the medium term it increases the chances that non-US countries will conclude they cannot work with the US, making agreements independently among themselves which simply work around the US,” he said. Sooner or later, the rest of the world will ink deals that leave America in the dust.
The pushback reached fever pitch at the IMO. Brazil, among others, called out the methods “that should not ever be used among sovereign nations”. Washington wasn’t just rattling individuals—entire capitals, from Bangladesh to Japan and Indonesia, got notes threatening diplomatic smackdowns.
But let’s step back. The drive for a net-zero shipping pact isn’t about feel-good climate slogans.
As Niu Tanqin from Xinhua puts it: The pact itself is a brass-tacks response to global warming’s mounting cost. Whether you like it or not, global warming is simply an undisputable fact. Everyone is scrambling to stall off the climate catastrophes looming on the horizon.
So, in order to squeeze carbon emission: if your ship emits less than the set limit, you’re rewarded. Above the cut-off, you pay. China, the EU, Japan, India, Brazil—all were in. Even the big shipping companies joined the chorus.
Only a handful of oil states—think Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE—pushed back. Pacific island nations, unconvinced the pact was tough enough, simply abstained.
Trump Says Global Warming’s a Scam—US Walks Out.
Then, everything changed. Once Trump 2.0 manifested, the US flipped from supporter to saboteur. In his mind, climate change is a hoax—or worse, a Chinese plot to corner American interests. Stopping this agreement wasn’t just policy—it was personal. He didn’t mind stooping low—pulling out every trick in the high school bully’s playbook: pressure, threats, and outright intimidation to make sure America got its way.
One official wasn’t shy: “It was completely exceptional. I have never heard of anything like this in the context of an IMO negotiation. These people [being threatened] are just bureaucrats, they are civil servants.”
If international law becomes a mere cheap disguise, you can bet real power will be the one pulling the strings.
Pause Button Pressed—World Left Reeling
Now, the deal waits on ice for another year, while “the world stares, shell-shocked”—witnesses to a new era of American brinkmanship.
Not the first time, either. Just look at tariffs: if Washington’s unhappy, it writes its own tax bill—no debate required. Venezuela and Nigeria have both fielded threats of military action; Canada and Panama know the taste of territorial intimidation. Lawless? That’s par for the course.
But payback, as always, has a funny way of coming due. Today, the US bullies island nations and slaps down climate claims. Tomorrow, who’s next? When “might makes right” replaces rules, every nation that depends on order will lose out. True justice may come late—but it never skips its date. Chip away at the pillars of fairness, and sooner or later, you bury the very house you live in.
The real question: how long can America’s strong-arm show go on before the world walks out?
