China has resumed buying U.S. soybeans, but still lags goals set by a trade agreement with President Donald Trump, an NBC News analysis found.
China previously was a top buyer of U.S. soybeans, but last spring stopped purchasing American soybeans because of a trade war launched by Trump.
The country resumed purchasing soybeans in October after reaching a trade agreement with the United States.
Under that deal, China promised to buy at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans during the last two months of 2025.
But China has bought just 2.85 million metric tons of soybeans since Oct. 30, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data compiled by NBC News.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that China is on track to purchase 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of February. The Trump administration has said China would buy at least 25 million tons of soybeans in the next three years.
Trump on Monday announced that he was giving $12 billion in aid to American farmers who have been affected by his trade war. Trump said that the aid will come from U.S. tariff revenues.