Trump trade rep changes China soybean purchase timeline, cites ‘discrepancy’

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday that the deadline for China to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans from American farmers is at the end of the “growing season,” not the end of December as the White House has said.

Greer’s comment at the hearing came on the heels of a report from NBC News showing that China’s pace of soybean purchasing in recent weeks is far from reaching 12 million metric tons by the end of the year, following a months-long boycott of purchases.

The trade representative said China has only purchased around 3 million metric tons to date. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies subcommittee.

He said there was an “inconsistency” between what the White House described as a deadline and the actual deadline for completing the purchases.

Greer’s statement came in response to a question from Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.

“Concerns remain about whether and when China will fully honor its purchasing commitments,” Fischer said.

He noted that the White House’s fact sheet on the trade agreement stated that China would purchase 12 million metric tons by the end of the calendar year; which contradicts Greer’s recent comments.

“This is true for the growing season, thank you for highlighting that,” Greer said.

‘We’ve heard from a few farmers, they wanted to know about this discrepancy and it’s an inconsistency, it’s happening throughout the growing season,’ he said.

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