TALLAHATCHIE COUNTY, Miss.—China, traditionally the United States’ largest soybean customer, has taken its business to South America in response to U.S tariffs, and Mississippi farmers say they are bearing the brunt of the move.
Soybean farmers in Mississippi and other Midwestern states have found themselves being used by Beijing as a bargaining chip in the U.S.–China trade dispute. For the first time in more than two decades, China has not yet bought soybeans from American growers from their autumn harvest, which began in September.
The United States has levied tariffs of more than 50 percent on Chinese imports in response to Beijing’s long-running unfair trade practices and trade imbalance against the United States. The two countries are currently negotiating a deal….