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# Tariff escalations trigger another decline in US farm exports to China
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/tariff-escalations-trigger-another-decline-in-us-farm-exports-to-china/
- Published: 2025-08-25T16:17:58.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-25T16:17:58.000Z
- Description: After raising tariffs as high as 145% earlier this year, the U.S. and China have paused further escalation until November. Still, American farm exports dropped from June 2024 to June 2025.
- Author: Mónica Cordero, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Agribusiness, Data Harvest, ag trade, agricultural exports, Brazil exports, China, China trade, chinese, donald trump farmers tariffs, TP::Explainer, exports, soybeans, tariff, tariff impacts on farmers, tariff-coverage, Trump, Trump tariffs, U.S. Census Bureau, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

The tariff wars waged by President Trump’s two administrations have reshaped U.S. agricultural trade with China.

The first trade war, in 2018 and 2019, opened the door for South American countries to gain market share in soybean and corn sales to China.

Unlike the first, this second trade war is global in scope. Its full repercussions remain to be seen, but the latest trade figures with China offer an early glimpse of what may lie ahead.

Between June 2024 and June 2025, U.S. agricultural exports to China fell 39%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s USA Trade Online database.

[Soybeans](https://www.fas.usda.gov/regions/china?ref=investigatemidwest.org) are the United States’ leading export to China, with Brazil the main competitor for [Midwestern farmers](https://extension.missouri.edu/programs/soybean/soybean-facts-and-figures?ref=investigatemidwest.org), followed by[ beef, beef products and cotton](https://www.fas.usda.gov/regions/china?ref=investigatemidwest.org).

The top five markets accounted for [61% of U.S. agricultural exports in 2024](https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/agricultural-trade?ref=investigatemidwest.org). That year, Mexico overtook China and Canada to become the United States’ largest market while China dropped to third, importing $24.7 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products — a 15% decline compared to 2023\. That drop was driven by weaker soybean and corn sales amid rising South American competition.

At the height of tensions last spring, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. China retaliated with duties of 125% on U.S. goods.

On Aug. 11, Trump [signed an executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/further-modifying-reciprocal-tariff-rates-to-reflect-ongoing-discussions-with-the-peoples-republic-of-china/?ref=investigatemidwest.org) extending the current tariff truce with China for another 90 days, pushing the expiration date to Nov. 10\. The move halted a planned escalation of tariffs, which are now capped at 30% on Chinese imports and 10% on U.S. exports.