Bessent said other countries in Southeast Asia have agreed to buy another 19 million tons of U.S. soybeans, but did not specify a timeframe for those purchases.

“So our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns – that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” program.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 reversed earlier losses and rose 1.35 per cent to $11.09-1/4 per bushel on Thursday after Bessent’s interview.

China diversifying soybean purchases

In 2024, the U.S. exported nearly 27 million tons of soybeans to China.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post overnight after a meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea that the Chinese leader had authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of soybeans, sorghum and other farm products.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins applauded Trump’s comments on soybeans and sorghum in a post on X.

But Even Rogers Pay, director at Beijing-based Trivium China, said the agreement effectively constitutes a return to business as usual in terms of U.S. soybean exports to China.

“It targets a level of trade that has been pretty consistent with the past few years,” she said.

Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said: “Commercial buyers are still waiting for more details — whether China will reduce the tariff on U.S. soybeans from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, or remove it entirely.”

“If the tariff is not completely lifted, commercial buyers will have little incentive to purchase U.S. soybeans,” he said.

Crops a bargaining chip

China, the world’s biggest soybean buyer and the top market for U.S. farmers, had turned its vast appetite for U.S. crops into a powerful trade war bargaining chip.

Facing import duties of 23 per cent on soybeans after rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, Chinese buyers largely shunned the U.S. autumn harvest, turning instead to South American supplies.

The drop in Chinese demand has cost U.S. farmers – a key pillar of Trump’s political base – billions of dollars in lost sales.

Since the trade war of the first Trump administration, China has diversified its sources of soybean imports. In 2024, China bought roughly 20 per cent of its soybeans from the United States, down from 41 per cent in 2016, customs data shows.

— Reporting by David Lawder in Chicago; Andrea Shalal, Daniel Burns and Leah Douglas in Washington, Maiya Keidan in Toronto and Ella Cao in Beijing.

The post China to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans this season, Bessent says appeared first on Farmtario.

Bessent said other countries in Southeast Asia have agreed to buy another 19 million tons of U.S. soybeans, but did not specify a timeframe for those purchases.

“So our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns – that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” program.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 reversed earlier losses and rose 1.35 per cent to $11.09-1/4 per bushel on Thursday after Bessent’s interview.

China diversifying soybean purchases

In 2024, the U.S. exported nearly 27 million tons of soybeans to China.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post overnight after a meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea that the Chinese leader had authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of soybeans, sorghum and other farm products.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins applauded Trump’s comments on soybeans and sorghum in a post on X.

But Even Rogers Pay, director at Beijing-based Trivium China, said the agreement effectively constitutes a return to business as usual in terms of U.S. soybean exports to China.

“It targets a level of trade that has been pretty consistent with the past few years,” she said.

Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said: “Commercial buyers are still waiting for more details — whether China will reduce the tariff on U.S. soybeans from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, or remove it entirely.”

“If the tariff is not completely lifted, commercial buyers will have little incentive to purchase U.S. soybeans,” he said.

Crops a bargaining chip

China, the world’s biggest soybean buyer and the top market for U.S. farmers, had turned its vast appetite for U.S. crops into a powerful trade war bargaining chip.

Facing import duties of 23 per cent on soybeans after rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, Chinese buyers largely shunned the U.S. autumn harvest, turning instead to South American supplies.

The drop in Chinese demand has cost U.S. farmers – a key pillar of Trump’s political base – billions of dollars in lost sales.

Since the trade war of the first Trump administration, China has diversified its sources of soybean imports. In 2024, China bought roughly 20 per cent of its soybeans from the United States, down from 41 per cent in 2016, customs data shows.

— Reporting by David Lawder in Chicago; Andrea Shalal, Daniel Burns and Leah Douglas in Washington, Maiya Keidan in Toronto and Ella Cao in Beijing.

The post China to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans this season, Bessent says appeared first on Farmtario.

As part of the same plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Montreal-based Caisse plans to hold green assets worth $54 billion by 2025 and dedicate $10 billion to decarbonize carbon-emitting sectors.

Pension funds globally are under pressure to act on climate change, with several schemes announcing divestments from fossil fuel companies this year.

The new emissions targets for Caisse, which has $390 billion in assets, follow the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP)’s Sept. 16 announcement of new interim plans to cut emissions.

While oil production assets currently make up one per cent of Caisse’s portfolio, the pension fund said it wants to divest it to avoid contributing to growth in global oil supply.

At the same time, it aims to boost the supply of renewable energy, sustainable transportation and real estate and invest in new sectors, such as green hydrogen, batteries, electrification of transport and carbon capture.

Caisse plans to move toward net zero emissions through investments in less carbon-intense assets, carbon budgets for each investment team and bonuses tied to climate targets.

“With this new strategy, we are demonstrating our leadership as an investor and enter the next stage of climate investing,” Charles Emond, president and CEO of Caisse, said in the statement.

“We believe this is in the interests of our depositors, our portfolio companies and the communities we invest in.”

The pension said Tuesday it had exceeded its climate targets, reducing the portfolio’s carbon intensity by 38 per cent since 2017.

— Reporting for Reuters by Maiya Keidan.

The post Canada’s second-largest pension fund reveals new climate targets appeared first on Farmtario.