US farmers 'cautiously optimistic' on China trade

The United States food pavilion is displayed at the SIAL Shanghai, an international food exhibition, on May 19, 2025. YI CHENG/FOR CHINA DAILY

During United States President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing last month, both sides reached a positive consensus on market access for certain agricultural products. The two parties agreed in principle to incorporate those products into a framework arrangement for reciprocal tariff reductions, and establish targets to expand agricultural trade.

On China's General Administration of Customs website, hundreds of expired licenses for US beef, pork and poultry plants were renewed soon after Trump's visit. The trade in meat was resumed shortly after the summit, an encouraging sign for US farmers.

Regardless of what size US farm exports to China will turn out to be in the next three years, one thing is clear — China and the US are working to jointly lower tariffs and expand access to agricultural products in their respective markets.

The news has been welcomed by US farmers, many of whom take it as a new beginning. Trump's tariffs halted the flow of farm goods between the two countries last year, following a previous stalling in 2018.

Matt Wagenson, a farmer in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, and vice-president of the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, told local news outlet WPR that improved trade numbers would be "a huge help".

"We're always looking to increase our free trade across the world, and China is just a crucial part of that free trade," he said.

Dave Pfarr, a soybean farmer near Le Sueur, Minnesota, said that from the producers' perspective, "we would love to get them back as a customer". "Because they are a big importer of our proteins, primarily soybeans and soybean meal," he told local CBS News in mid-May.

But others in US agriculture are more cautious. China-US agricultural trade has experienced a rollercoaster ride in the past decade, largely due to Trump's tariff policy.

"I think we are cautiously optimistic when it comes to these things because we've been on both sides of this equation. You know, the first time we went through the tariff crisis, we lost 20 percent market share," Todd Main, director of market development at the Illinois Soybean Association, told Ag Daily in late May.