In its trade dispute with the US, started by Trump, China is deliberately not buying US products.

Bunge Ltd. CEO Soren Schroder told Bloomberg on Wednesday China has essentially stopped buying U.S. supplies amid the brewing trade war. Bunge is the world’s biggest oilseed processor.

“They’re buying beans in Canada, in Brazil, mostly Brazil, but very deliberately not buying anything from the U.S.” It’s “very clear” that the trade tensions have already stopped China from buying U.S. supplies, Schroder said. “How long that will last, who knows? But so long as there is this big cloud of uncertainty, that’s likely to continue.”

Bunge has still been able to meet Chinese demand by filling shipments with supplies from outside the U.S., Schroder said. The White Plains, New York-based company has a large presence in South America.

Soybean Price

The futures symbol for soybeans is “ZS”. A chart shows the price of soybeans peaked in summer of 2012 near $1790.

Since bottoming in September of 2014, the price has mostly flatlined between $900 and $1,050.

It appears that the lack of Chinese buying US soybeans has neither hurt nor helped US farmers. But the dispute not done a damn thing for the deficit either.

At best, China’s soybean retaliation has made the US the deficit with China worse while improving it by the same degree elsewhere.

Trump Playing With Fire

President Trump is playing with fire. He has started a trade war on multiple front simultaneously: China, the EU, NAFTA (Canada and Mexico).

Nothing good can possibly come from this. For discussion, please see Germany Seethes and Juncker Warns Trump About Tariffs: Can Trump Win?