American soybean and pork producers came away from the Washington summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping with a two-month extension of the trade truce but few concrete answers on farm trade, Michigan Ag Today's Eric Pfeiffer reports.

The talks ended on Thursday without a comprehensive trade agreement or specific new agricultural purchase commitments. The two countries extended their existing truce to 10 January, giving negotiators more time on tariffs, farm purchases and other disputes, and pushing the next deadline past the November midterm elections.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China was making substantial progress toward its pledge to buy 25 million tonnes of US soybeans a year through 2028, and Chinese state buyers are more than halfway to this year's target, according to Reuters and other market sources. But Bessent said China was behind on a separate pledge to buy at least $17 billion of other US farm products; it has bought no US corn this marketing year and sorghum purchases have lagged.

The summit produced no announcement on additional pork purchases or wider market access, and no broad cut in Chinese tariffs on US farm goods. "I think our farmers are going to be very happy," Trump told reporters, without giving volumes, values or timelines. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said more details on Chinese purchases could come on Monday.

Chicago grain futures fell at Friday's opening as traders weighed the lack of specifics. "Soybean farmers want to see this momentum continue with strong purchases of US soy and a lasting trade partnership with China," said American Soybean Association president Scott Metzger.

Trump and Xi are due to meet again at the APEC summit in China on 18-19 November and at the G20 leaders' meeting in Florida on 14-15 December, before the extended truce expires. For farmers, the article concludes, success will be measured by how much China actually buys, which tariffs it removes and whether market access lasts.

Photo: Judd McCullum / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Source: Michigan Ag Today