Overview
- On ABC’s This Week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he is a soybean farmer and has “felt this pain” from China’s near halt in buying U.S. soybeans.
- He said talks in recent days produced a “substantial framework” and predicted farmers would feel good when details are announced, with Trump set to meet Xi in South Korea this week.
- China has largely stopped purchasing U.S. soybeans this year, stripping an estimated $13 billion in annual sales and shifting demand to South America.
- Public disclosures and prior reporting show Bessent owns $5 million to $25 million in North Dakota corn and soybean farmland and has delayed divesting under an ethics agreement.
- Bessent’s net worth is estimated at more than $500 million, and farm groups are still awaiting concrete relief the administration has promised.