Argentine sale of soy this week to China draws ire from soybean farmers

September 25, 2025 | Aaron Putze, APR

Just days after the suspension of Argentina’s export tax, China purchased a rumored 20 vessels of Argentine soybeans.

The sale, which coincided with the Trump Administration’s negotiation this week of a $20 billion swap line and bond support package for the world’s third largest producer of soy, ignited a strong response from U.S. soybean farmers.

“The economic lifeline provided by the U.S. to Argentina is poorly timed and inexcusable,” said Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) President Tom Adam. “This is especially true considering the much-publicized financial pain U.S. ag has been experiencing due to an ongoing trade war with our country’s most reliable and significant purchasers of soybeans.

“With harvest underway in Iowa and throughout key soybean growing regions around the country, now is the time for making U.S. soybean sales, not empowering our competitors,” he added.

American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland, in a statement released yesterday, said U.S. soybean farmers have been clear for months: the administration needs to secure a trade deal with China.

“China is the world’s largest soybean customer and typically our top export market,” said the farmer from Kentucky. “The U.S. has made zero sales to China in this new crop marketing year due to 20% retaliatory tariffs imposed by China in response to U.S. tariffs.”

Ragland said tariffs have allowed other exporters, including Argentina and Brazil, to capture U.S. market at the direct expense of U.S. farmers.

“The frustration is overwhelming,” he added. “U.S. soybean prices are falling, harvest is underway, and farmers read headlines not about securing a trade agreement with China, but that the U.S. government is extending $20 billion in economic support to Argentina while that country drops its soybean export taxes to sell 20 shiploads of Argentine soybeans to China in just two days.”

The financial measures afforded by the U.S. to Argentina are intended to support the country’s foreign-exchange liquidity, stabilize its currency, and reassure investors. According to reports, the measures have not been fully executed nor are they legally binding.

The suspension of Argentina’s 26% grain export tax cleared the way for massive purchases of Argentinian soy by the world’s top buyer. China reportedly purchased nearly 20 cargoes of Argentine soybeans as the export tax exemption makes the commodity more financially competitive to U.S. soy during a critical marketing window for American producers.

Grant Kimberley, ISA’s senior director of market development, said China will likely max out the $7 billion allocation Argentina says they will sell tax free.

“And that could very well be the bridge China needs to sustain its needs for soy until Brazil’s next soybean crop is harvested, which will be in January.”

Written by Aaron Putze.

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