China stops US soybeans purchases

China, the world’s largest soybean buyer, has put purchases of American supplies on hold after the trade war between Washington and Beijing escalated, sources told Bloomberg.

State-grain buyers haven’t received any further orders to continue with buying and don’t expect to soon given the lack of agreement in trade negotiations, said the Bloomberg sources.

Government data indicates China bought about 13 million tons of American soybeans after the countries agreed to a truce in December, in a move that showed goodwill toward getting the trade dispute resolved. While US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in February that China had pledged to buy an additional 10 million tons of American soy, purchases have now stopped.

US President Donald Trump escalated the trade war with China earlier this month, ramping up tariffs on about $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to retaliate with further duties of its own. Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to meet again at the end of June for the G-20 summit.