An Illinois soybean farmer says the new trade agreement between the United States and China is finally bringing a measure of relief to growers after a long stretch of depressed prices.
Chris Gould, who farms near New Lebanon, Illinois, told Newsmax on Friday that the deal struck between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is lifting optimism across farm country.
“Well, it’s obviously very encouraging,” Gould said on “National Report.” “Prices for soybeans are higher than they’ve been in about a year or so. So it’s definitely good news, and we’re excited to see how this all plays out.”
Gould said that for much of the past year, farmers have been forced to sell at or below break-even prices due to global uncertainty and reduced Chinese demand.
“We’ve had significantly depressed prices for the last year or so,” he said. “Not knowing what’s going to happen, you have to make the best deals you can with what you know at the time. And some of those sales have been quite depressed below break-even.”
But the recent breakthrough, Gould added, is changing that outlook.
“Now, we maybe see a light at the end of the tunnel where we can start making some profitable sales,” he said.
The upbeat reaction from Gould and other producers follows this week’s announcement that Trump and Xi reached a new understanding on agricultural trade, with China agreeing to significantly increase purchases of U.S. soybeans and other farm goods.
The deal — negotiated amid broader talks on tariffs and technology — revives commitments made under the “Phase One” trade framework first reached between Washington and Beijing in early 2020.
Under the renewed arrangement, China is expected to boost soybean imports from the U.S. by several million metric tons over the next year, a move analysts say could stabilize prices and restore export momentum lost during earlier trade tensions.
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