Trump Feuds Over Cooking Oil Even After Chinese Exports Sank

Chinese exports of used cooking oil to the US were already in retreat well before President Donald Trump chose them as the latest flashpoint in his trade war with Beijing.

Trump has landed on purchases of cooking oil as a possible weapon to counter China’s refusal to buy US soybeans. Used cooking oil, or UCO, is a feedstock commonly employed to make biofuels. However, soybeans remain a much more valuable commodity, and it’s unlikely that ending the China-US trade in UCO would have a dramatic impact on either buyers or sellers.