October 16, 2025

 

Amid trade tensions, US warns of ban on cooking oil from China over soybean import dispute 

 

 

US President Donald Trump has been blowing hot and cold over the state of trade relations with China over the last week.

 

On October 14, Trump lashed out on China's decision to stop buying American soybeans as a retaliatory measure against US tariffs imposed in April and threatened potential termination of cooking oil trade with China.

 

"I believe that China purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act," he wrote on Truth Social on October 14. "We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution. As an example, we can easily produce Cooking Oil ourselves, we don't need to purchase it from China."

 

China has been the biggest buyer of American soybeans, according to the American Soybean Association. Soybeans were the number one US agricultural export, worth about US$24.5 billion and more than half of it was bought by China, roughly US$12.6 billion worth in 2024, according to Farm Action, a nonpartisan, farmer-led watchdog organization. Some of the biggest soybeans producing states are Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana.

 

China has been buying soybeans from Brazil and Argentina since spring.

 

In 2024, the United States received approximately 1.27 million metric tonnes of used cooking oil from China, which was about 43% of China's total used cooking oil exports, according to the USDA.

 

On October 10, Trump suggested that he may not meet Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea over China's decision to restrict export of rare earth minerals. Trump threatened impose an additional 100% tariff on all Chinese imports in retaliation.

 

"It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History," Trump said in an October 10 post on Truth Social.

 

Meanwhile, Trump just days before, on October 6, had written on Truth Social that he would be meeting with Xi, of China, and that "Soybeans will be a major topic of discussion."

 

The news was not well- received by the American Soybean Association, which was looking for a resolution on the deadlock.

 

Caleb Ragland, ASA president, a soybean farmer from Magnolia, Kentucky, said the ASA was "extremely disappointed" that planned meeting had been cancelled.

 

He said the association had been hopeful that the talks "would lead to a deal that would restore US soybean exports to China."

 

"Trade wars are harmful to everyone, and these latest developments are deeply disappointing at a moment when soybean farmers are facing an ever-growing financial crisis," he said.

 

Two days later, on October 12, Trump posted on Truth Social saying "it will all be fine" with China.

 

"Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment," he wrote.

 

But that was then.

 

On October 14, Trump was once again sceptical of China.

 

"We have to be careful with China," he said during a meeting on October 14 with  Argentina President Javier Milei. "Look, I have a great relationship with President Xi, but sometimes it gets testy because China likes to take advantage of people and they can't take advantage of us."

 

-      USA Today