US Announces $17 Billion Farm Products Deal with China

China will buy at least $17 billion a year of US agricultural products over the next three years, the White House announced on Sunday.

According to the new agreement, China will make the purchases on top of existing soybean agreements it signed in October 2025—commitments to buy around 100 million metric tons of US soybeans up to the end of 2028.

The Epoch Times reports, “U.S. agricultural exports to China declined sharply in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

“China fell out of the top five destinations for U.S. agricultural exports as shipments dropped to $8.4 billion. Mexico was the largest market for U.S. agricultural exports in 2025, followed by Canada, the European Union, and Japan. U.S. Department of Agriculture data also showed that total U.S. agricultural trade declined from a record $394 billion in 2022 to $383 billion in 2025.

“Chinese officials agreed to purchase during 2020 and 2021 at least $200 billion of goods more than a 2017 baseline amount of U.S. agriculture products, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Chinese regime fell short of that commitment by 60 percent, in part because of its efforts to diversify agriculture and energy suppliers and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Congressional Research Service.”

The White House says the new agreement will help expand economic relations with China and smooth over recent tensions, which saw tit-for-tat tariffs applied by Washington and Beijing to a wide range of products.

The deal will also come as welcome news to US farmers.

Yesterday, Alex Jones Live reported that farmers across the Midwest are facing the worst agricultural downturn since the 1980s as rising energy and fertilizer prices continue to bite due to the Iran war.

The growing crisis is caused by continuing increases in energy and fertilizer prices, shortages, disruptions to export markets and also unfavorable weather.

“What makes this moment particularly hard is that farmers can’t pivot quickly,” said Cornell University agricultural economist Wendong Zhang.

“Farmers have some tools, but none are quick fixes.”

In Ohio, for example, a farmer said his fuel bills have almost doubled, and container costs have risen 30%.

Iowa farmers are facing around a 50% decrease in soybean prices due to a reduction in demand from China.

According to the America Farm Bureau Federation, 70% of American farmers can’t afford the fertilizer they need.

Consumers are seeing the knock-on effects at the store, as the price of food, especially beef, rises.

The US cattle herd is at its lowest number for decades, which has helped drive the price of ground beef up 19% over the last year.

Many lower-income households have also lost SNAP food-stamp benefits, leaving them “doubly exposed.”

At the end of last month, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled a plan for farm relief that includes $900 million in grant funding for fertilizer companies, streamlining of the permit process and support for new legislation to lower fertilizer costs.

President Trump also announced an $11 billion “bridge payments” for farmers of row crops, to help them deal with rising costs and lower prices for their products.

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