Bloomberg (September 19)
“For the first time since at least the 1990s, China hasn’t bought any US soybeans at the start of the export season, a sign that Beijing is once again using agriculture as leverage in its trade fight with Washington.” In 2024, the US supplied “a fifth of China’s soybean imports, worth more than $12 billion, and accounting for over half of total US soy export value.” This year, “US farmers, flush with bumper harvests, are coping with prices near the lowest levels in years.”
Tags: $12 billion, 1990s, 2024, Agriculture, Bumper harvests, China, Export season, Leverage, Prices, Soybeans, Trade fight, U.S., Washington
Wall Street Journal (July 19)
“What began as an obscure, tech-supply trade fight between Tokyo and Seoul has now erupted into a boycott mushrooming across South Korea, a backlash targeting Japanese apparel, travel and electronics.” According to a recent poll, “most South Koreans are avoiding Japan-made products.”
Tags: Apparel, Backlash, Boycott, Obscure, South Korea, Tech-supply, Tokyo, Trade fight, Travel
South China Morning Post (June 18)
“The first punches in a trade fight that China didn’t want have been thrown, and now Chinese President Xi Jinping is poised to match his US counterpart Donald Trump blow for blow.” China has plenty of ammunition in a fight that might come down to painful attrition. “Safety inspections, consumer boycotts and approval delays are just some of the ways that Beijing can respond to action from Washington.”
Tags: Ammunition, Boycotts, China, Delays, Inspections, Punches, Trade fight, Trump, Xi
