U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington this month will likely bring new announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers to expand American farm exports to China.
Greer Sets Narrower China Trade Expectations
“When President Xi comes, we expect that we will probably have some more announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers related to agriculture to incentivize American sales into China,” Greer told Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier on Thursday.
Greer also lowered expectations for another sweeping trade pact. “We’re not looking for a giant comprehensive trade agreement with China. We’re looking to manage this relationship,” he said.
Agriculture Deals Build On May Framework
That approach builds on the framework President Donald Trump and Xi established during their May summit. The two governments created a U.S.-China Board of Trade for non-sensitive goods, while China agreed to buy at least $17 billion of U.S. agricultural products annually through 2028, in addition to the soybean purchase commitments that it made in October 2025.
The May package also noted that China restored market access for U.S. beef by renewing expired listings of more than 400 American beef facilities and adding new listings, while also resuming poultry imports from eligible U.S. states.
Following the summit in May, Greer said that Washington wanted to “manage the trade around the kinds of things we want to be selling to China, whether it’s Boeings or soybeans or other ag or energy or medical devices.”
Soybeans remain central. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said private exporters reported 192,000 metric tons of soybean sales to China on Sept. 3, after 202,000 tons on Sept. 2 and 136,000 tons on Sept. 1 for the 2026-27 marketing year.
Tariff Tensions Shadow Upcoming Xi Visit
The agriculture push arrives despite unresolved trade friction. In August, it was reported that Trump is considering a new 7.5% tariff on Chinese imports over industrial overcapacity, a level administration officials believe would preserve the one-year trade truce and planned Xi meeting.
China has also urged Washington to keep ties stable. Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently called on both sides to “remove disruptions and overcome obstacles” ahead of Xi’s visit.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had set a July 10 deadline seeking input on specific types of non-sensitive products that could potentially benefit from tariff modifications on each side under the proposed U.S.-China Board of Trade. Responses to those comments were limited till July 27.
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