August 7, 2019
China orders buying of US agricultural goods to stop following US' tariffs threat
In the latest trade scuffle between China and the US, the Chinese government has called for national enterprises to stop buying US agricultural products, according to sources.
Privately owned Chinese crushers which had received tariff waivers on US soybeans from Beijing also suspended the purchasing of the grain due to the continuing strain of US-China trade relations.
Chinese buyers are also now looking to South America to acquire soybeans, with Brazil and Argentina being potential suppliers. According to sources, they were seeking Brazilian cargoes mostly for September and Argentine cargoes for August and September.
So far, private crushers have not received notices from the government on any policy change.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Darin Friedrichs, a senior analyst at INTL FCStone's Asia commodities division, said that China's huge agricultural purchases serve to its advantage and that could impact US farmers and rural communities which are commonly expected to support Trump.
China recently found itself again defending accusations from Trump after the US president claimed that the country has not buy huge quantities of US agricultural goods.
On the contrary, Cong Liang, China's Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, told state media CCTV that Chinese companies have bought US farm products, including soybeans. Some deal have not concluded as the prices are not competitive, he added.
- Bloomberg
