New data shows Brazil’s growing dominance in China’s soybean market and why it’s a rising concern for U.S. growers. A look at long-term trade trends, producer sentiment, and what’s at stake for Midwest agriculture.
Chinese state-backed money is remaking the hemisphere’s ports —from Santos to Chancay — reshaping grain routes to Asia and squeezing U.S. farmers as tariffs deepen the split with Washington.
After raising tariffs as high as 145% earlier this year, the U.S. and China have paused further escalation until November. Still, American farm exports dropped from June 2024 to June 2025.
The US hit a $24.5 billion farm trade deficit in just five months of 2025. With a federal court now weighing Trump’s tariff powers, the ag trade gap is under more scrutiny than ever.
