Soybean farmers in Illinois continue to face uncertainty amid the ongoing agricultural trade war between the United States and China.
Participants in the 2025 Illinois Grain Stop Tour at the Illinois Soybean Association in Bloomington said the current economic conditions,which hurt both countries, are unnecessary.
The association was visited by buyers from several Asian and Middle Eastern countries Tuesday. Buyers came from China, Vietnam, Egypt, Singapore, Jordan and the Mauritius island to tour the facility as well as nearby farms and production factories.
Jerry Costello, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, said the trade war was an impossible topic to ignore during the tour.
“It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room — especially having buyers from China that are here,” Costello said. “China, last year, bought $1.4 billion worth of soybean off the state of Illinois alone. They have yet to take one single soybean delivery from the U.S. — let alone the state of Illinois — as we sit here today nine months into the year.”
In total, the U.S. exported $12.8 billion of soybeans to China last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. President Donald Trump’s high tariffs on Chinese goods— which add up to a 34% tax — have hindered ongoing business between the two nations.
“These tariff policies didn’t work in the first Trump administration and they’re not working now,” Costello said.
McLean County ranks annually among the top soybean producers in the nation, and Illinois is the leading soybean- producing state.
Trump has said cash bailouts will be made from tariff revenue to support farmers.
“A taxpayer-funded bailout of a self-created crisis is absolutely insane to me,” Costello said. “I keep going back to the first Trump administration and what occurred; if you look at U.S. Department of Agriculture numbers, they would tell you $27 billion were lost because of that tariff policy and program. There was a $23.1 billion taxpayer-funded bailout at that point in time, so still a net loss of $4 billion in agriculture.”
“In doing things like this grain tour, us having face-to-face meetings [and] inviting these countries here to the state of Illinois, we want them to know that the state of Illinois is open for business,” Costello continued.
Eileen Pabst, international marketing manager of the Illinois Soybean Association, thinks the industry will be able to thrive despite the trade war.
“Our relationship with China — especially for the soybean industry — we’ve always been very willing to have a conversation, and I think it really makes us stronger,” Pabst said.
Buyer Xiaobo Lee from China came to the tour with translator Alice Johnson.
“[I] feel that this tour has been very sincere and genuine,” Lee said through the translator.
As a farmer, Lee said he hopes the trade war between the U.S. and China can be alleviated. “I would like to be able to come into the country to buy a lot of high-quality grains,” he said.
“American farmers are producing a lot of excellent, high-quality crop. [With] China being the largest buyer — since they are no longer able to export grain to China — since China is losing this part of their market and American farmers are also losing some profit.”
Lee said China has turned to purchasing grain from South American farmers, who are now raising their prices. China has increased soybean imports from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay this year.
“If you look at the economic impact annually for agriculture in the state of Illinois, [in] 2023, $26.4 billion — $13.7 billion of that was exports. That’s how important exports are to the state of Illinois,” said Costello, adding farmers should be putting pressure on their federal elected officials.
“Trade policy should be run by Congress,” Costello said. “Farmers are businessmen and women just like any other business. They need predictability and stability in order to make business decisions.”
Restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development [USAID] also is a contributor to the tarnished business relationship between the U.S. and China, he said. In July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced USAID workers could no longer work abroad.
“We’ve spent decades cultivating relationships and they’re being torn apart and torn down in six, seven [or] nine months. The harm that’s being done by the volatile rhetoric and violent rhetoric from a financial aspect is something that takes a long time to repair,” Costello said.
The current Illinois Grain Tour is the second one this year, following an earlier visit to the Illinois Soybean Association by several Latin American companies previously.
“Ultimately, we want our farmers to continue having market opportunities, and so if having fair and free trade is an option, [that] is our number one priority. We of course would take any help we can get to keep farmers up and running,” Pabst said.
