Trump seizes on China ‘ban’ in Brazil soy trade, but data shows US gains small

US President Donald Trump and his administration on Tuesday seized on China’s recent ban on select Brazilian soybean shipments, touting it as proof they had won Beijing back over to US suppliers even though official data shows China has only resumed American purchases modestly.

At a lengthy, end-of-year cabinet meeting, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that “just a couple of days ago, China announced that they were going to halt all purchases from Brazil because they had found some irregularities in some of the soybeans they’re buying from Brazil”.

Rollins cast the move as a “continued signal that this country and our farmers produce the best, highest quality soybean, sorghum, etc, in the world”, arguing that Trump had reopened “those markets” and was helping shift farmers away from “reliance on government checks” towards “markets to sell their product”.

China’s ban followed an inspection finding pesticide-treated wheat mixed into a cargo bound for Beijing. The suspension affected five Brazil-based exporters, including two Cargill plants and one facility each operated by Louis Dreyfus Co., CHS Agronegocios and 3Tentos Agroindustrial. The companies have declined to comment on the matter.

Cargill is an American multinational, and CHS Agronegocios is part of US-owned CHS Inc., which is controlled by American farmers, ranchers and co-operatives.

  

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