Grains Fall as Traders Seek China Buying Signs After Tariff Cuts Ben Westcott and Hallie Gu Crop futures eased after the US and China detailed plans to cut tariffs on a slew of agricultural products, with traders awaiting concrete signs of purchases in the wake of last week’s summit between leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Both governments announced a plan to cut rates on about $30 billion of imports from each country, as the nations take further steps to steady ties following the meetings in Washington. For China, that includes American farm products from corn to wheat and sorghum, plus many types of meat, seafood and fresh produce.

The two sides also announced plans to establish an agricultural working group to help facilitate future agreements. Traders have been looking for potential tariff cuts to spark significant new demand for grain by China. The Asian nation has already passed the halfway mark of a pledge to buy at least 25 million tons of US soybeans annually through 2028, after a flurry of recent purchases by state-owned traders.

However, it hasn’t made much progress on a second promise — made during the last Trump-Xi summit in May — to buy an additional $17 billion in US farm products. The tariff cuts could entice private traders back into the market, aiding momentum on both pledges and potentially spurring buying beyond soybeans. Still, soybeans remained a notable exception in the announcements, with only the seed variety included.

Tariffs have largely kept private traders on the sidelines so far, with the current levies — which stand at about 13% for soybeans — curbing the appeal of American crops. Wheat futures in Chicago fell as much as 0.9% on Monday, dropping for a fifth day and on track for their longest losing streak since early June. Corn and soybean futures also declined.

Markets had been expecting “big purchase commitments to go along with the tariff cuts,” said Joe Davis, a director of commodity sales at Futures International LLC. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC late last week that the US “will release on Monday more details on what we’ve accomplished,” and Trump said he will meet with Xi in China in November. “The Trump administration keeps stringing traders along,” Davis said. “By year-end we should have additional clarity, but the bulls were positioned for the news and further commitments to come on Friday at the meeting.” The agreements could offer some relief to US growers, who are dealing with high costs for fuel and fertilizer exacerbated by the war in the Middle East. Farmers — a key Republican voting bloc — are currently in the midst of this year’s harvests and Trump has sought to maintain their support heading into midterm elections. However, questions remain over how quickly Chinese purchases could ramp up from here.

Attacks in the Black Sea have slashed flows from a key exporting region and pushed up prices of crops from wheat to corn globally over the last few months, eroding the incentive for large purchases. Plus, ample supplies and sluggish demand at home has curbed China’s overall appetite for imports. The competitiveness of US supply versus that from other sources remains key, particularly for private buyers.

Beijing has worked for years to diversify purchases and gain alternative suppliers to reduce reliance on the US. A pickup in crop trade also hinges on broader bilateral relations staying stable, according to Hanver Li, chief analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. China largely shunned American agricultural purchases in 2025 as Washington and Beijing ratcheted up tariffs on each other’s goods, before a summit between Trump and Xi later in that year helped ease tensions and revive buying — progress that was built on during their second meeting in May.