A loss of any market that size would dramatically impact the price we get for our soybeans. It takes an incredible amount of effort to produce enough food to feed more than a billion people. The Chinese I spoke with are very anxious to have a steady supply of high-quality U.S. soybeans. They are concerned that if Congress doesn't give China normal trade status U.S. farmers will get hurt and Chinese consumers will have to pay more for food. U.S. soybean producer-leaders Chris Davis and Tony Anderson recently met with U.S. soybean customers in China to review current programs and discuss future trade.
China is now the largest export buyer of U.S. soybeans.
Congress should stop trying to use our farm products as some kind of foreign relations bargaining chip. We need free trade for our agricultural products to compete in the global marketplace. I hope Congress will not for some reason or another deny farmers, and other industries, an opportunity to have fair trade access to the China market. There are 1.3 billion people in China that are potential consumers for products we manufacture and grow and process in the United States. Without a trade agreement we would not only deny the Chinese access to our markets but we would also deny ourselves access to the market in China.