The Phase One deal with China ends in less than two months, with no new deal in sight, and American farmers are wondering what it means for U.S. ag.
The U.S. China Business Council says that American exports last year surged by $18.5 billion dollars. That is an 18 percent increase from 2019.
China is still buying grains, beef, and pork.
The council says that with no new agreements on the horizon the ag sector is a little nervous.
“They’re wondering if these good times will continue to roll, and it’s up in the air because there aren’t any negotiations for a continuation of Phase One or some other kind of agreement where China will continue to buy large quantities of U.S. agricultural products,” Doug Barry states.
The upside is there appears to be momentum for the presidents of both nations to meet soon, and talk through some of the issues surrounding the trade deal.
The council says that there is another thing to keep an eye on.
“The upside is that China has had some bad harvest of their own, and they’ve had some miserable weather and flooding and, as a result, there were news reports over the past couple of days indicating that the Chinese government was encouraging consumers to stockpile food and other necessities for what is expected to be in long, cold winter,” he adds.
That likely means that more ag purchases from China. The council has asked the U.S. Trade Rep to permanently remove most of the tariffs with China. Katherine Tai has indicated they are a good bargaining chip to make sure China fulfills its commitments.
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