Heading into the summit in China, republicans had high hopes. Did anything happen?
Soybean Commitment 2025 Flashback
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What Deal Was That?
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Everything! But Soybeans?
Trump Made Soybeans Great Again (for Brazil)
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China has been agreeing to buy billions of dollars of soybean for years. The results were zero as noted above.
Dear Eric, the expectation was for China to buy twice as many Boeing airliners than announced. Boeing dropped on the news.
And let’s see how many actually happen.
China Summit Was a Success
However, I am pleased to report that we have a new measure of success regarding the summit.
And by that new measure the summit was a a huge success.
The Wall Street Journal explains The Good-News-Is-No-News China Summit
The main rule of presidential summitry with an adversary is first do no harm. By that standard President Trump’s Beijing parley with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week was a success. It didn’t achieve much, but it also didn’t appear to give away anything notable to the wily dictator.
We say “appear” because we can’t be sure based on the few details leaking out from the parties. Mr. Trump boasted about “fantastic” Chinese purchases to come of U.S. soybeans and aircraft. But China didn’t confirm the sales, and by our count this is the second time China has bought the same American soybeans. Or is it the third? Mr. Trump also said the two now agree on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, but there was no overt agreement from Mr. Xi.
The good news is that the President doesn’t seem to have granted Mr. Xi’s wish that the U.S. allow the sale of advanced computer chips to China. This is a Communist Party priority as it seeks to catch up with the U.S. on AI. But U.S. firms can’t get enough such chips themselves, and there’s no reason to help China catch up faster to the U.S. leaders.
The good news is nothing happened. By that measure this was a tremendous success.
However, I am not exactly sure why it’s better to sell China nothing than something on chips.
The US government has approved about 10 Chinese firms (including Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent) to buy Nvidia’s H200 AI chips. However, no deliveries have been made. Beijing has stalled the deals to pressure Nvidia into selling more advanced tech and to boost domestic semiconductor alternatives.
So, quite literally nothing happened other than the US sent over an entourage of 10+ CEOs for a China pony show with Trump as the dog.
Oh, I almost forgot. China agreed to buy the same soybeans it has agreed to buy for years.
Success!
At a global soybean price of approximately $450 per metric ton, $200billion would purchase roughly 445 million metric tons of soybeans.
BREAKING: Trump erases US trade deficit, though climate scientists raise concern about global bean flatulence in atmosphere.
Does anyone know a blood sucking financial advisor that will take the sweat of my brow and those around me and offshore industry, devalue my currency and lend me money for usury gain. I am a boomer and want to live my Golden Years at other younger generations expenses and call it financial prowess.
A guy can only eat so much Tofu and Tempeh before he starts turning Japanese, I really think so.
Xi played taco like a fiddle as he always does.
China constantly promising to buy soybeans has shown to be a lot of hot air.
Maybe it’s their counter strategy to the constant crap coming from the Donald.
The grand irony of soybeans is that if the Strait remains closed and no fertilizer gets through then there won’t be much soybeans around next season.
https://who13.com/news/iowa-farmers-face-uncertainty-as-fertilizer-prices-surge-amid-iran-war-fear-looming-farm-crisis/
Paging Frosty, paging Frosty, Iowa farms on aisle 2 now available at deep discount.
They don’t have to buy soybeans if they have already bought the farm.