Agriculture markets are analyzing the outcome of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, while U.S. lawmakers are taking in the latest sign of a tumultuous political season ahead.
China will buy at least $17 billion in American agricultural commodities each year for the next three years, on top of preexisting commitments on soybeans, as part of an agreement struck during Trump’s visit to Beijing, according to the White House. In addition to those purchases, the administration separately secured commitments to revive poultry and beef exports.
On the domestic political front, Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Saturday became the first elected incumbent senator to lose a primary since 2012. Cassidy, a physician by training, has been a vocal critic of the president. He voted to convict Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot.
“Cassidy’s loss proves, yet again, that there is no home in the current Trump-dominated Republican Party for anyone who doesn’t give the president complete fealty,” said analyst Jessica Taylor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
China deals come into focus
The $17 billion of U.S. ag purchases in 2026, 2027 and 2028 are on top of the 25 million metric tons of soybeans China agreed to buy in October, according to a U.S. fact sheet published Sunday. The 2026 numbers will be prorated, it adds.
In an interview with CBS News, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the purchase commitments are for “aggregate” agricultural products, and could include additional soybean buys, but also other commodities.
In addition to addressing U.S. concern around beef export facility registrations, which was announced earlier in Trump’s trip, and the establishment of boards of trade and investment, the White House and China’s Ministry of Commerce said Beijing would also work to resolve U.S. states’ issues exporting poultry to China.
The Phase One deal signed in early 2020 established strict criteria for when Beijing could limit poultry exports from U.S. states affected by bird flu. But since that agreement, several states that have long been free from the virus have still faced bans exporting into the Chinese market.
If all the 19 eligible states see their export bans lifted, USA Poultry and Egg Export Council President Greg Tyler told Agri-Pulse Sunday, it could see the return of some major broiler-producing states to the Chinese market, including Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
“We are obviously hoping for this,” Tyler said, “but will have to wait until the details are released.”
USTR didn’t immediately respond to a question from Agri-Pulse on if all 19 states would get their bans lifted.
Greer on Sunday told ABC News that China had agreed to look at its approvals of U.S. biotechnology traits. However, the fact sheet makes no mention of such a commitment.
Greer also said the newly established “board of trade” could facilitate discussions on future tariff reductions.
“We’re going to have conversations [with] the Chinese about stuff we should be selling them,” he said, according to a transcript. “And we’ll talk about the tariff treatment for those things.”
Mexican tomato exports in the spotlight
The International Trade Commission will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine the antidumping duties applied to U.S. tomato imports from Mexico. Last year, the Trump administration withdrew from an agreement suspending antidumping duties on Mexican tomatoes, snapping 17% into place.
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In response, several tomato producers requested a review of whether the antidumping duties, which were initially approved in the 1990s, were still warranted. Several producers, including Naturesweet, are arguing that circumstances have since changed and that Mexico is no longer selling tomatoes below market rates.
The hearing takes place against the backdrop of rapidly rising tomato prices. Since the U.S. withdrew from the suspension agreement and the tariffs came into effect last July, the average price of field grown tomatoes across U.S. cities has climbed from $1.79 per pound to $2.69 in April 2026.
Surface transportation reauthorization
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee intends to move forward with a five-year surface transportation reauthorization that would direct $580 billion to bridges, roads and other key infrastructure, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Members of the committee will deliberate draft text at a markup hearing on Thursday, the person said. The most recent surface transportation reauthorization expires Sept. 30, 2026.
Also in focus on the House side is the timing of a farm labor bill introduction from the Agriculture Committee. In the Senate, how the chamber plans to move ahead with a House-passed farm bill and ethanol-expansion legislation (E15), will also be under close watch.
Both chambers also face scrutiny on the strategy for getting federal financial aid to struggling ag producers this year.
The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. Monday; the House next meets at noon Tuesday.
Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EST):
Monday, May 18
Agriculture Transportation Coalition’s annual meeting in Tacoma, Wash., through Thursday.
National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, through Tuesday.
4 p.m. – USDA’s weekly crop progress report.
Tuesday, May 19
Sweets & Snacks Expo in Las Vegas, through Thursday.
International Fresh Produce Association’s Floral Conference in Miami, through Thursday.
9:30 a.m. – International Trade Commission hearing on review of antidumping tariffs applied to Mexican tomatoes.
1:45 p.m. – Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy webinar, “Shaping the Future of Food: Agroecology Uprooted.”
3 p.m. – Senate Appropriations panel hearing on the fiscal 2027 budget request for the Transportation Department, 192 Dirksen.
Wednesday, May 20
U.S. Meat Export Federation spring conference in Oklahoma City, through Friday.
10 a.m. – House Natural Resources panel hearing, “The Federal Reclamation Program’s Next Century,” 1324 Longworth.
11 a.m. – House Appropriations Committee markup of fiscal 2027 energy and water development budget bill, 2359 Rayburn.
Noon – Peterson Institute for International Economics webinar to launch a book from economist Chad Bown and Financial Times columnist Soumaya Keynes, “How to Win a Trade War.”
2 p.m. – House Natural Resources panel hearing, “The Profit Engine Driving Environmental Nonprofits,” 1324 Longworth.
2:30 p.m. – Senate Appropriations panel hearing on the fiscal 2027 budget request for the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation, 124 Dirksen.
Thursday, May 21
8 a.m. – House Appropriations panel markup of fiscal 2027 budgets for Interior, Environment, Transportation and related agencies, H-140 Capitol.
8:30 a.m. – USDA weekly export sales.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
*Corrects an earlier version of Washington Week Ahead to say Cassidy is the first elected incumbent senator to lose a primary since 2012.
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