U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons (MMT) of soybeans this year. Additionally, China said it will buy a minimum of 25 MMT of soybeans annually for the next three years. 

Trump and other White House officials announced the news early on Thursday following talks between President Trump and Xi. 

China imported 27 MMT of U.S. soybeans during the 2024/25 season. 

There was no confirmation of an official bilateral deal, similar to the Phase One trade agreement. Trump said in a social media post that a deal could be signed “pretty soon.” 

The news comes after Bloomberg reported that China recently bought 3 cargoes of U.S. soybeans, the equivalent of about 180,000 metric tons. 

Also a part of the tentative agreement, the U.S. and China agreed to suspend tit-for-tat shipping fees for one year. Those fees had gone into place on Oct. 14, creating a short-term bottleneck. The U.S. still plans to incentivize U.S. shipbuilding to enhance the American supply chain. 

Soybean futures surged to the highest level in about 15 months this week leading up to the media reports. January futures topped $11 a bushel before giving back some of those gains.

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