China Stops Importing US Soy in First for Trade War

For the first time since President Trump ignited a trade war with China, the People's Republic imported no US soybeans at all in November. Per Reuters, China, which is the world's largest soybean buyer, has turned to Brazil's growers instead after China put a 25 percent tariff on US imports in response to US tariffs on their goods. Reuters reports that US soybean sales to China accounted for trade worth about $12 billion in 2017.

Per Quartz, China bought around 5 million metric tons of soybeans from Brazil last month, or around twice what it purchase from the South American country in November 2017. This month, China and the US reportedly agreed to a 90-day window in which they would discuss terms of lifting tariffs and China began purchasing US soybeans again in early December. (Meanwhile, the trade war is among several issues causing disquiet in world markets.)