Top U.S. trade official: Trump and Xi should still meet, says China ‘overstepped’
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says that President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping are still scheduled to meet at the end of the month.
“It makes sense for people to talk when they can,” Greer said in an interview on CNBC.
Senior staff from both governments met Monday in Washington, Greer said, following Trump’s announcement on Friday that China would face new 100% tariffs next month.
Trump posted on Truth Social after Beijing tightened exports of rare earth minerals, threatening new tariffs and to cancel the planned Xi meeting.
“I think they have realized that they’ve overstepped,” Greer said of the Chinese. But he added that it is “hard for them to find an off-ramp at this point.”
Take note: A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said over the weekend that “threats of high tariffs are not the right way to get along with China.”
They said the U.S. has undermined economic cooperation, including expanding trade restrictions and pressing ahead with port fees.
“If the U.S. insists on going the wrong way, China will surely take resolute measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the spokesperson warned.
Trump defends ‘America First’ bona fides of Argentina package
Trump says financial support for Argentina is in keeping with his “America First” approach to U.S. foreign policy.
Some soybean farmers and Democrats have criticized the package because of Argentina’s potential to supplant U.S. exports in key markets. During a White House visit by Argentinian President Javier Milei on Tuesday Trump defended the measures, which includes up to $20 billion in currency swaps with Argentina.
“Helping a great philosophy take over a great country” would benefit the U.S., Trump said. “If Argentina does well, you’re going to have others following,” he added, asserting that democracy and “fair and balanced trading” is growing on the continent.
Trump downplayed concerns that China is pivoting to Argentinian soybeans.
“China likes to draw wedges,” Trump said, but added, “it's not going to mean anything in the end.”
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Take note: Illinois soybean grower John Bartman repeated farmers’ concerns over the Argentinian support in a call with reporters organized by the Democratic National Committee.
“MAGA now means ‘Make Argentina Great Again,’” Bartman said, charging that South America has been the top beneficiary of Trump’s tariff policies.
Corn harvest at sunset in central Iowa. (Agri-Pulse photo: Lydia Johnson) NFU calls for swift relief for farmers
National Farmers Union President Rob Larew has written to the president and congressional leaders calling for swift economic support for farmers.
“Recently enacted trade policies and the resulting actions by other countries have wreaked havoc on our markets, driving commodity prices far below the cost of production,” Larew writes. “Meanwhile, input costs are projected to reach record levels in 2025.”
Farmers and ranchers, he said, need help “as soon as possible to survive.”
Larew says assistance should be balanced among regions and crops and exclude foreign-owned corporations and large, concentrated corporations. He also wants measures expanding domestic demand, including year-round E15 ethanol blends and increased biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel production.
Davids, Walz back farm assistance package
Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids says she backs assistance for farmers hurt by tariffs.
An Agriculture Committee member, Davids agreed with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz that Democrats should support what Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is calling “bridge funding.”
“I'm here to support the farmers, producers and ranchers in Kansas,” Davids said. “I also want to make sure that when we talk about this, we keep in mind the reason that we're in this mess right now is because Donald Trump … is taking this scattershot approach to trade.”
Walz, asked about supporting something benefiting voters who overwhelmingly supported Trump, said, “We don't base our support of our neighbors based on the political ideology of who they voted for.”
The two spoke on a call with reporters organized by the Democratic National Committee.
Separately, Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins told Agri-Pulse that farmers need help this growing season. He said some are giving up on certain leases to focus on the acreage that will provide the most yield.
He added that the assistance package needs to be large enough to make a difference.
“The amount matters,” he said.
Indonesian official, others, take aim at EU deforestation rule
The Indonesian ambassador to the European Union says a proposed EU deforestation rule could pose insurmountable challenges to Indonesian ag exporters.
A forthcoming EU rule will make importers of certain ag commodities demonstrate that their supply chains are deforestation-free. For small Indonesian farmers, it could cut off an important market, the official warned during a Tuesday webinar hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, or IFPRI.
Ambassador Andri Hadi said that many Indonesian coffee, cocoa and palm oil farmers “live in remote areas and lack access to GPS devices, digital maps or capacity to meet complex traceability requirements.”
Further, the farmers may work land given to them by customary rights and fail to meet EU legal definitions.
The regulations also may not have the desired impacts, said Kevin Chen, an IFPRI researcher based in China. Supply chains could simply reorient so that the EU takes a much greater share of products that come from clean supply chains, while China buys more products from deforested land or areas at higher risk of deforestation.
Take note: U.S. producers are opposing the rules and timber producers are already facing impacts, pitting exporters against southern landowners and intermediaries.
Oliver Ward contributed to today’s Daybreak
