China ties more US farm purchases to tariff cut deal

China's Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, November 5, that Beijing is open to buying more US agricultural products, but only after both sides finalise and implement the reciprocal tariff cuts on $60 billion of goods they trade with each other, Reuters reported. The condition makes tariff relief the price of larger farm purchases. The package came out of Chinese President Xi Jinping's September summit with President Donald Trump in Washington and still has not been finalised.reuters.com

Beijing's condition

At a regular press briefing, spokesperson Huang Ling said China "has consistently been open to expanding purchases of agricultural products from the US, but only on the condition that the two sides implement their agreed '$30 billion-for-$30 billion' reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement," according to Reuters' report as carried by The News Tribune. Huang said China hopes Washington will work with it to "create favourable conditions" for farm trade, Reuters reported. China's state news agency Xinhua said she listed lower tariffs, fewer non-tariff barriers and wider market access as the ways to do that.english.news.cn+2

Huang was answering questions about a November 2 meeting between Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative, and a visiting US agricultural trade delegation, according to South Korea's Financial News.en.fnnews.com

What the deal covers

The two sides agreed during economic and trade talks in New York and Washington from September 20 to 23 to cut tariffs on about $30 billion of each other's goods. Around 90% of the covered products would drop to most-favoured-nation rates, and both countries would make the cuts at the same time once their domestic legal procedures are done, Xinhua reported. China's list includes corn, wheat, sorghum, meat and dairy. It leaves out soybeans, the biggest US farm export to China, which drew criticism from the American Soybean Association, according to Farm Progress via AgriMarketing. Neither government has said how deep the cuts will be or when they will take effect, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.hawaiitribune-herald.com+2

Purchases fall short

In May, the White House said China had agreed to buy $17 billion of US agricultural goods a year starting in 2026, on top of an earlier soybean commitment. A Reuters analysis found that China is on track to meet its soybean target but bought only $7.2 billion of other US farm products from January through September, Reuters reported. Those non-soy imports were the lowest for that period since 2019. It is also unclear whether the $17 billion timeline started with the May announcement or will start only once the tariff cuts are finalised. Traders told Reuters that tariffs would have to come down before large-scale purchases make commercial sense.thenewstribune.com

The two governments have set up an agricultural working group that is expected to meet before the end of the year. Their trade truce now runs through January 10, 2027.agrimarketing.com