Lawmakers weigh in on growing soybean tariff debate
ILLINOIS(KBSI) – Soybean farmers across the U.S. are feeling the backlash of retaliatory tariffs from the result of a trade war, particularly between the U.S and China. China has historically been the biggest purchaser of Soybeans in the U.S. As a response to tariffs raised by both countries China is now boycotting the U.S. soybean industry.
Soybean farmers across Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri continue to wait in limbo in the midst of a government shutdown, Illinois Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi is calling for renewed oversight on trade decisions.
“Farmers I talked to don’t want aide, they want trade. They want trade, they want the government to enhance markets abroad so they can sell their products abroad” says Krishnamoorthi. “We saw this coming for months and yet not only did we not avoid this trade war and the horrible impact of it, but we also failed to develop other markets to help offset the impact.”
President Trumps Administration has announced they are working on economic aid for farmers but that has been stalled during the government shutdown. The American Soybean Association is saying farmers are facing an ever-growing financial crisis.
“If they don’t have revenues and they continue to have fixed costs, that means that they have losses and those losses, are hard to bear. Not only that, farmers are hurting, but also the farm economy. The agricultural economy is hurting” says Krishnamoorthi.
Some Republican leaders have also been vocal about a need for congressional oversight. Iowa Republican
proposed The Trade Review Act of 2025 with the support of Senator Maria Cantwell in April 2025. Under the proposed bill it would restore congresses authority and responsibility over tariffs by placing certain limits on the president’s ability to impose tariffs. Senator Chuck Grassley saying quote “For too long congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch.” However, the bill has not gained much momentum at this time. We reached to other republic leaders on the issue but haven’t received a response at this time.
“The Chinese are engaging in some nonsense with regard to, economic aggression and, you know, basically, the president retaliated with 100% tariffs. Well guess what? When you put 100% tariffs on their products, they’re going to retaliate once again and farmers are going to be caught in the crosshairs” says Krishnamoorthi.
Krishnamoorthi is referring to President Donald Trump expressing frustration on Friday October 10, 2025, on China’s new export controls on rare earth minerals. Possibly pushing back negotiations between the U.S and Chine related to trade.
The American Soybean Association shared a news release in response to Fridays events “ASA is extremely disappointed that the planned meeting at the end of the month between President Trump and Chinese President Xi is canceled as of right now due to the recent actions of the Chinese government to further restrict access to rare earth minerals. ASA was hopeful that these upcoming talks between the United States and China would lead to a deal that would restore U.S. soybean exports to China.”
Krishnamoorthi shares his opinion and suggests several factors in boosting the agriculture economy.
“One, stabilize our trading relationship with our major trading partners around the world. Two, let’s stand up those USAID programs again, which help to provide additional demand for our various farming products and help us around the world. Three, let’s extend those Obamacare tax credits. It’s a no brainer of the year. Once those tax credits go away. These farmers and others are no longer going to be able to access health care.”
Links relevant to the article
Trade Review Act of 2025- C:\Users\ROS\AppData\Local\Temp\ROS25637.loc
(Trade Review Act proposed but NOT passed currently.)
Representative Krishnamoorthi |
Biography | Senator Chuck Grassley
Trump plans aid package for US soybean farmers while seeking trade deal with China | AP News
Trade tensions reignite as China and US hostilities escalate | AP News
American Soybean Association – Meeting Agricultural Needs Globally
