Agriculture trade is helping smooth-over a rocky relationship with China.
The Asian nation is still behind on Phase One commitments for manufacturing, energy, and intellectual property, but it is buying a record amount of American commodities like corn and soybeans.
The U.S. Grains Council says that ag is the one area of the deal that China is following through on.
According to the Council’s Bryan Lohmar, “One thing holding the relationship together is agriculture imports. President Xi has said himself that agricultural imports are the ballast in a ship on a rocky ocean, and the rocky ocean is the relationship and it’s gotten pretty darn rocky.”
Because there is uncertainty surrounding the U.S./China relationship, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack wants the U.S. to expand into other markets, like Europe, Africa, and the south Pacific.