Besant says China will make ‘significant’ purchases of US soybeans and should avoid 100% tariffs

In an interview on CBS News Face the Nation with Margaret BrennanThe additional 100% tariffs that President Donald Trump threatened earlier this month are “virtually off the table,” along with restrictions on rare earths in China, Besant said.

“So I expect the threat is 100% gone, as is the threat of immediate enforcement by the Chinese initiating a global export control regime,” he said.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on Thursday, on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea, where they will determine the final details of the agreement.

Besant said Trump’s threat to impose 100% tariffs, which would have boosted the overall rate above 150%, had created significant leverage during talks in Malaysia with Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng over the weekend.

The two sides also discussed US agricultural exports to China and Beijing’s role in helping curb fentanyl trade.

Farmers have been warned The economic crisis in rural America With crop prices falling and costs continuing to rise, China has refrained from purchasing any US soybeans this harvest season, despite it being traditionally its largest export market.

Besant declined to provide specific details but said soybean farmers would be “very happy with this deal for this year and for years to come.”

He added that recently China’s purchase of soybeans from Argentina It was planned before the United States extended a currency lifeline to Buenos Aires, but was timed to take advantage of lower export duties.

“These soybeans have always been on the market. It’s a global market. The three main suppliers are Brazil, Argentina and the United States,” Besant said. “I think we have brought the market back into balance, and I think the Chinese will make big purchases again.”

While he noted that China would ease export controls on rare earth elements, Besant noted that US restrictions would remain in place.

When asked about restrictions on chip exports and restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States, he replied: “There have been no changes in our export controls.”