U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday that a previously released timeline for China to meet its commitment to buy American soybeans had been extended from the end of this year to the end of the "growing season."
The apparent shift came to light during Greer's testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington, when Deb Fischer, R-Neb., asked him to "walk me through how you are monitoring China's purchases."
"What is the timeline for the 12 million-metric-ton purchases?" she asked. "Is that timeline not by the end of this calendar year?"
Greer replied, "It is for this growing season."
The Agriculture Department’s website says most soybeans in the United States are planted in May and June and harvested in September and October.
The trade representative’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Thank you for highlighting that," Greer said to Fischer. "We’ve heard from a couple of farmers — they want to know about that discrepancy. And it is a discrepancy.”
Greer's "discrepancy" is between the timeline he gave and what the White House announced in a news release Nov. 1, shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump met.
“China will purchase at least 12 million metric tons (MMT) of U.S. soybeans during the last two months of 2025," read the statement, which was still posted on the White House website late Tuesday.
Beijing will “also purchase at least 25 MMT of U.S. soybeans in each of 2026, 2027, and 2028,” said the fact sheet, which was titled “President Donald J. Trump Strikes Deal on Economic and Trade Relations with China.”
On Monday, Trump announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers, which included $11 billion in direct payments. The same day, the Agriculture Department announced that a fresh batch of U.S. soybeans was destined for China.
During the depths of the U.S.-China trade war, farmers across the country said their businesses were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy when China halted all purchases of American soybeans.
Since Trump and Xi met in late October, China has resumed buying U.S. soybeans, with at least 10 waves of purchases in varying amounts.
As of Tuesday, China had purchased a total of around 2.85 million metric tons since October, according to data compiled by NBC News.
The Agriculture Department said Monday that private exporters had informed it that 132,000 more metric tons of soybeans were booked for delivery to China.
In recent comments, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also referred to the "growing season" as China's buying deadline.
Bessent said last Wednesday that China was "in a perfect cadence to complete" purchasing the goal of 12 million metric tons.
As for the timeline to completion, “I think that’ll be Feb. 28,” he said.
