The 125% figure marked a brief, sharp escalation—not the tariff rate on U.S. soybeans today. On April 9, 2025, President Donald Trump raised U.S. tariffs on imports from China to 125%. China separately announced a 125% tariff on U.S. goods two days later, effective April 12. The rates were subsequently reduced. In its September 4, 2026 update, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported a 10% Chinese retaliatory tariff on U.S. soybeans, renewed U.S. purchases, and continued competition from South American suppliers.
What did the 125% tariff apply to?
The two 125% announcements were separate measures with opposite trade directions. Trump’s April 9, 2025 action set a U.S. tariff rate of 125% on imports from China. His statement said, “I am hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125 percent, effective immediately.” The White House action records the U.S. measure; an archived copy of the statement preserves the quoted wording.
China then announced its own 125% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods on April 11, effective April 12, 2025. That is the measure directly relevant to the cost of U.S. soybeans entering China. USDA FAS described the Chinese action in its April 2025 report. The headline number should not be read as a lasting soybean-specific rate or as a U.S. tariff on American farm exports.
How did the rates change?
After the U.S.–China statement of May 12, 2025, the additional rates introduced in April were reduced. USDA FAS’s May 14 update explains the resulting tariff rates and notes that earlier Chinese tariffs of 10% to 15% on U.S. agricultural products, imposed in March, remained in place at that time. Those March duties and the later 125% retaliation are distinct parts of the timeline; the April spike did not remain the applicable soybean rate.
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In its September 4, 2026 China: Oilseeds and Products Update, USDA FAS reported a 10% Chinese retaliatory tariff on U.S. soybeans. That is the latest soybean-specific official rate established here, not a guarantee that the rate cannot change after the report.
Did China resume buying U.S. soybeans?
Yes. USDA FAS reported that Chinese state-owned enterprises continued buying U.S. soybeans in accordance with the Busan agreement. Its figures below are reported sales through August 13, 2026—not shipments already delivered or a promise of future purchases.
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| USDA FAS measure | Amount | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| China’s purchases of U.S. new-crop soybeans for marketing year 2026/27, as of August 13, 2026 | 5.7 million metric tons | Reported purchases for that marketing year; not a shipment total. |
| U.S. soybean sales to “unknown destinations” for marketing year 2026/27, as of August 13, 2026 | 3.8 million metric tons | FAS says these sales can indicate state-owned-enterprise purchases, but the destination is not confirmed as China. |
These figures, reported in the September 4, 2026 FAS update, describe sales recorded by the report’s cutoff date. They do not establish that all of the volume had shipped or that buying would continue at the same pace.
Why can U.S. sales recover while farmers still face competition?
A tariff changes the relative cost of sourcing from different origins; it does not by itself determine how much China will buy from any one country. USDA FAS reported that the 10% tariff led commercial buyers to rely on South American origins. It also described Brazilian soybean shipments to China from June through August 2026 as record volumes, without giving a numeric volume in the report summary.
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That means renewed purchases by Chinese state-owned enterprises do not show that the earlier disruption had no lasting competitive effect. Commercial buyers’ sourcing choices and state-owned-enterprise purchases are different parts of the market, and a reported sale is not the same as a completed shipment. The USDA figures establish trade activity and reported tariff rates; they do not quantify the tariff’s effect on an individual farm’s income or prove a specific change in soybean prices.
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When a tariff or buying figure makes news, check what the number actually measures before applying it to a farm’s outlook:
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- Productive - Chiba Green Soybean germinates in 10-14 days when soil temps are 65-75°F. Plant 1” deep and space 4-6” apart in an area with full sun. This variety will grow 1-3’ tall with a spread of 12-16”. Beans will mature in 65-75 days, plant in USDA zones 3-10.
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- Identify who is imposing it and on what imports. U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and Chinese tariffs on U.S. soybeans are not interchangeable.
- Check the date and status. An announcement, an effective date, and a later reduction can all differ.
- Separate the market measures. A commitment, reported sale, shipment, and forecast are not the same thing.
- Check the marketing year and cutoff date. For example, FAS’s 2026/27 purchase figures above were current through August 13, 2026.
- Compare origins. U.S. sales should be considered alongside sourcing from Brazil and other South American suppliers.
USDA Economic Research Service’s Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS) data update, updated September 8, 2026, provides monthly trade tables by country and commodity, including soybean data.
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