Highlights
Between October and January are the traditional months the U.S. dominates sourcing soybeans to China. However, this marketing year, 46% were from Brazil, up from 29% two years earlier. The two primary reasons are Brazil’s soybean production and storage capacity is growing faster than Chinese demand for soybeans and the U.S. and China trade and political relationships have been in down-trend ever since Biden refused to reduce or remove Trump’s tariffs on most Chinese products.
Around 7:14 PM Friday evening (99.9% reporters are off-duty), the Biden Administration said it was poised to impose a 100% tariff on electric vehicle (EV) imports from China. The Financial Times reported the story yesterday (Saturday), saying the move would be a huge escalation in the ongoing US-China trade war. The current U.S. tariff on Chinese EVs is 25%.
US government officials claim China's "overcapacity" in EV manufacturing threatens American EV companies and national security. On February 7th, Ford Motor Company reported an operating loss of $4.7 billion on its EV business in 2023, which more than offset its profit in all other divisions by $400 million. Ford sold 72,608 EVs in 2023 and lost $64,731 on each EV it sold.