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.
In 2018 and 2019, the first Trump administration paid more than $20 billion to farmers who lost market access after tariffs were implemented. The money was unequally distributed.
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.
Midwest farmers fear economic fallout as Trump’s shifting tariff policies reignite trade tensions with key partners. Many worry that new trade wars will further disrupt global markets, leaving them with fewer buyers and declining profits.
Federal and Midwestern state lawmakers are seeking to crack down on Chinese ownership of U.S. agricultural lands, amid security tensions and the shooting down of a "spy balloon" spotted over Montana. Federal data shows that foreign holdings of U.S. farmland increased by an average of 2.2 million acr
Citing concerns about China, House Republicans ask GAO to look at foreign ownership. The 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act requires holders to report ownership to the USDA. There are gaps in the data reported.
