Reports have emerged that China suspended reservations for U.S. soybeans and corn even before the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
On the 21st, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) cited data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reporting that China took this action starting in mid-January.
According to the report, China, which had signed multiple contracts for U.S. soybeans and corn every month since August last year, stopped reservation purchases from January 16.
China's actions are interpreted as diversifying sources of agricultural imports ahead of President Trump's inauguration, which has indicated high tariffs. Nikkei noted, "There is an intention to strike at U.S. farmers, who are part of Trump’s support base, in the face of high tariffs imposed by the Trump administration."
The proportion of U.S. soybeans in China's imports, which reached 40% in 2017, fell to around 20% last year. Instead, the share of Brazilian soybean imports increased from about 50% in 2017 to around 70% last year.
Nikkei cited officials from the Brazilian Soybean Producers Association, stating that China signed contracts for 2.4 million tons of Brazilian soybeans earlier this month, which is "an unusually large contract that corresponds to one-third of what China typically consumes in a month."
Previously, China implemented additional tariffs of up to 15% on U.S. wheat, corn, chicken, and cotton last month as retaliation against U.S. tariff policies. This is also assessed as a strategy to shake the Trump administration along with the import suspension.