Beijing lifts some tariffs on US farm goods but soybeans stay costly

Written by: Joe Cash, Ella Cao and Ethan Wang

BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing confirmed on Wednesday that China would suspend retaliatory duties on U.S. imports, including those on agricultural products, following a meeting of the two countries’ leaders last week, although U.S. soybean imports still face a 13% tariff.

The Council of State, or cabinet’s tariff commission, will eliminate duties of up to 15 percent on some U.S. agricultural products starting Nov. 10 while maintaining 10 percent duties imposed in response to President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” mandates.

Investors on both sides of the Pacific were relieved when Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea; That eased fears that the world’s two largest economies might abandon talks to resolve a tariff war that has disrupted global supply chains.

Trump and the White House quickly explained their views on the meeting, but the Chinese side did not immediately provide a detailed summary of what was agreed upon.

“Overall, this is a great sign that the two sides are making rapid progress in implementing the agreement,” said Even Rogers Pay, director of Beijing-based Trivium China.

“This shows that they are compatible and the deal is likely to go ahead.”

U.S. soybean futures hit their highest level since June 2024 on hopes China will buy.

But analysts said Beijing’s decision to drop a 13% tariff on soybeans made U.S. shipments to China too expensive for commercial buyers compared with Brazilian alternatives.

“With this change, we do not expect any demand from China to return to the US market,” said a trader at an international trading company. “Brazil is cheaper than the US, and even non-Chinese buyers buy Brazilian cargo.”

After the meeting, the White House said China will purchase at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in the last two months of 2025 and at least 25 million tons in each of the next three years.

Beijing has yet to confirm these figures and traders are closely watching for signs of large-scale buying.

The White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

CHEAP BRAZIL BEANS

Chinese importers recently purchased 20 cargoes of cheaper Brazilian soybeans; South American prices eased on expectations for a resumption of U.S. sales to the world’s largest soybean importer.

While China’s tariff is in effect, the U.S. Soybeans are more expensive than Brazil’s old crop supplies by over a dollar per bushel, said Arlan Suderman, chief commodity economist at commodities firm StoneX.

Unless Beijing waives its duty to retaliate, China’s state grain buyer Sinograin will have to shoulder the burden of meeting its obligation to buy 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of the year, Suderman said. He said Sinograin was actually duty-free and was buying for China’s soybean reserves.

“It would be an optimistic outlook for Sinograin to purchase this amount in such a short time,” he said.

Brazilian soybeans for December shipment were priced at a $2.25 to $2.30 premium to the January Chicago contract, while U.S. beans shipped from the U.S. Gulf Coast were offered $2.40 a bushel, traders said.

Before last week’s meeting, state trader COFCO made China’s first purchases of this year’s US harvest; it was a move that analysts saw as a goodwill gesture.

According to customs data, in 2024 China bought about 20% of soybeans from the United States; That’s down from 41% in 2016, the year before Trump’s first term as president.

This year, China has largely kept U.S. crops out of the fall harvest due to high tariffs, causing billions of dollars in lost exports to American farmers.

A summary of the meeting with the US released by China’s commerce ministry showed that China’s senior trade negotiator Li Chenggang attributed “fluctuations” in agricultural trade between the two countries to US tariffs.

China and the United States are “important agricultural trade partners,” Li said, adding that he hoped Washington could work with Beijing to create favorable conditions for cooperation.

The Chinese cabinet said it would suspend the 24% additional customs duty it imposed on US goods in April for a year.

China will also lift or suspend for a year some non-tariff retaliatory measures, including export control measures announced against some U.S. entities in March and April, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Joe Cash, Ethan Wang and Ella Cao in Beijing, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)