China imported no soybeans from the U.S. in September 2025 — the first time since November 2018 — as trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies deepened. Customs data showed U.S. imports fell to zero last month from 1.7 million metric tons a year earlier, while shipments from Brazil surged 29.9% to 10.96 million tons, accounting for 85.2% of China’s total imports. Purchases from Argentina also jumped 91.5% to 1.17 million tons, or 9% of the total. For January–September, China imported 63.7 million tons from Brazil, up 2.4% year-on-year, and 2.9 million tons from Argentina, up 31.8%. China’s total soybean imports reached 12.87 million tons in September, the second-highest on record. Beijing has not bought any soybeans from this year’s U.S. harvest, with buyers turning to South America—helped by Argentina’s temporary export tax cut.
