The US Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, announced on Monday (November 24) that the US will unveil a farmer aid program and a soybean purchase agreement with China within the next two weeks.
The Trump administration has pledged to roll out agricultural subsidy programs for months to assist farmers affected by the decline in agricultural product prices and the impact of the US-China trade war, particularly soybean farmers who lost billions of dollars as China shifted its purchases to Brazil and Argentina.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) stated on Monday that farmers are “urgently in need” of assistance as they are facing high production costs and depressed agricultural product prices, creating a challenging situation with dual pressures.
In an interview with CNBC, Rollins said, “We expect to announce the specific details of the farmer aid program within one to two weeks.”
Rollins emphasized, “The corn industry, among other crops, has faced a difficult period in recent years. The President has promised to ensure this—I don’t know if we can fully restore them, but we can at least provide some aid to help them plan for next year’s planting.”
When asked about whether China is fulfilling its commitment to purchase US soybeans, Rollins expressed confidence in China’s commitment, noting that the agreement will be signed this week or next week, while also emphasizing that “there is still a long way to go.”
Rollins stated, “All indications show that their commitment is still valid, and they will indeed purchase 12 million metric tons or place orders. Even if the orders are placed by the end of December, these soybeans will be shipped out early next year.”
The White House indicated that President Trump and Xi Jinping, following their meeting in South Korea in October, agreed that China would purchase 12 million metric tons of US soybeans before January 2026, with at least 10 soybean vessels booked, exceeding 2 million metric tons for this season. Last week, China purchased nearly 1.6 million metric tons of soybeans within three days, marking the largest weekly purchase volume in two years, leading to a rebound in agricultural product prices.
However, China has yet to confirm the October purchase agreement, creating uncertainty in the grain market regarding the details of the agreement and when shipments will commence.
On Truth Social, Trump posted on Monday that he and Xi Jinping discussed agricultural products such as soybeans during their call, reaching a “good and very important agreement” for American farmers.
According to shipping schedules, two cargo ships (Ocean Harvest and Tokugawa) headed to grain docks near New Orleans on Monday to prepare for loading the first US soybeans purchased by China since May.
Simultaneously, a third cargo ship (Bungo Queen) is expected to arrive at a grain dock along the Texas coast next week to ship US sorghum to China.
(This article references reports from Reuters and Bloomberg)