Trump Bet on 2020 China Farm Bonanza Teeters on Edge of Collapse

Obstacles to purchase commitments even before new tensions
‘Zero chance’ now of reaching $36.5 billion election-year goal

Watch: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he feels “very good” about the progress of the phase one trade agreement with China.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Mike Dorning

June 4, 2020 at 11:00 PM UTC

Updated on

June 5, 2020 at 9:03 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

President Donald Trump’s promise that his phase one trade deal with China would provide a $36.5 billion election-year bonanza for his rural base was always a stretch. Now it looks like it may never be fulfilled.

Trump is back to bashing China. The Asian nation’s roaring economy was stalled for months by the coronavirus pandemic, cutting its demand for imports. And a plunge in Brazil’s currency is making products produced by one of the U.S.’s main international agricultural competitors cheaper.