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Soybean farmers in the U.S. are lobbying hard to reopen the market in China, which is their biggest customer.

China had completely cut off soybean purchases from the U.S. earlier this year in retaliation for President Donald Trump's tariffs.

There was hope that China would resume its soybean buying after a recent meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

However, while China has lifted its retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. agricultural products, it has maintained a 13% tariff on U.S. soybeans and purchases of the crop have been slow.

The White House has said that China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of American soybeans by the end of this year and 25 million tons in each of the next three years.

But farmers say that's not good enough given that China bought 27 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in 2024.

Chinese officials in Beijing have refused to confirm the Trump administration's numbers.

Soybean purchases have a sense of urgency given the recent harvesting of the crop. American farmers say they are worried that China is diversifying away from U.S. supplies.

In recent months, China has bought more soybeans from countries such as Canada, Brazil and Argentina.

The situation is causing major financial problems for both American farm families and major agriculture companies such as Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG) and Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE: $ADM ).

The Trump administration has said repeatedly that it stands with American soybean farmers, but it remains to be seen if China will start purchasing the crop again in significant amounts.