Increasingly desperate US farmers, including many who voted for US President Donald Trump, are urging him to adopt a conciliatory approach rather than a confrontational one if a lasting soy deal can be reached when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.
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As the harvest season slips by with no orders from China and rising input costs – from equipment to fertiliser – farmers say partnership, not strong-arming Beijing, would serve both sides better.
Many voiced frustration at Washington’s failure to design tariffs that spared their livelihoods, saying they had expected Trump to act faster on the issue.
“I don’t think we could force the Chinese to do anything. I don’t think that’s the approach we need,” said David Burrier, a third-generation farmer from Maryland, just a few miles away from Washington.
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Soybeans: China’s new bargaining chip in trade war with US?
Soybeans: China’s new bargaining chip in trade war with US?
Describing China as a “good partner”, he stressed “it’s got to be a relationship or partnership that works for everyone.”
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Over the weekend, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.