National Business Daily (NBD), a Chinese national daily newspaper on business news, recently reported that the United States once exported more than half of its soybeans to China, but since May this year China has not purchased any American soybeans. The official U.S. records dating back to 1998 show that this was the first time in nearly 30 years that China had not purchased any American soybeans.
In the 2023-2024 marketing year (September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024), the United States exported nearly 25 million tons of soybeans to China, far exceeding the 4.9 million tons exported to the second-largest market, the European Union.
Now the soybean harvest season has arrived in the United States, but China, historically the largest buyer, has not placed any orders, and soybean farmers are facing an “extremely severe situation.” The White House has made two promises to farmers: to force other countries to purchase American agricultural products in trade agreements with other countries; and to provide subsidies to domestic farmers. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the U.S. federal government is expected to pay more than $40 billion in subsidies to farmers in 2025, the second highest level since 1933.
Republicans also tried to provide $60 billion in aid to farmers in the “Big Beautiful Bill” at the expense of cutting nutrition subsidies for American citizens, but even if these subsidies can be issued, they will not be distributed until the next crop year.
Source: NBD, October 3, 2025
https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2025-10-03/4082401.html