°®¶¹´«Ã½

Chinese and U.S. officials reached a broad framework agreement over the weekend in Malaysia, paving the way for Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump to finalize a trade deal.

Agricultural trade was among a range of issues that American and Chinese negotiators said they came to terms on, setting the table for leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize a deal.

China last year purchased $13 billion of U.S. soybeans — more than 20% of the entire crop — for animal feed and cooking oil, but still hasn’t booked a single shipment from this fall’s huge crop.

Soybean futures erased earlier gains after President Donald Trump said a planned meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, may not happen. 

Amid a wide-ranging agenda of complex geopolitical and trade issues, Washington continues to press Beijing, the world’s largest agricultural importer, to increase purchases of soybeans. 

The president listed rare earths, fentanyl and soybeans as the U.S.’s top issues with China just before the two sides return to the negotiating table this week in Malaysia. 

Cutting off cooking oil trade could have wide-ranging effects for the American heartland and in energy markets. Used cooking oil is a feedstock for biofuels such as renewable diesel.

President Donald Trump predicted China will resume purchases of American soybeans after he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.

China, typically the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, still hasn’t booked a single shipment of the crop from this year’s harvest.

But farmers are worried that time is quickly running out to reach a trade deal with China in time to sell any of this year’s crop to their biggest customer.