China restores soybean licenses for US firms, ends log ban

BEIJING: China will restore soybean import licences for three U.S. firms and lift its suspension on U.S. log imports starting November 10, its customs authority said on Fridayin another sign of easing trade tensions between the two nations.

AI Brief

China suspended licenses of key US grain exporters in March amid rising trade tensions.
After Trump-Xi meeting, China lifted some tariffs and resumed modest US farm purchases.
A 10% tariff on all US imports remains, keeping traders cautious about full trade recovery.

The licence suspensions for farmer-owned cooperative CHS CHSCP.O, global grains exporter Louis Dreyfus Company Grains Merchandising and export grain terminal operator EGT were imposed in March amid escalating trade frictions.

The halt on U.S. log imports was a retaliatory measure after U.S. President Donald Trump's March 1 order to investigate lumber imports.

Investor sentiment improved after Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, reducing fears that the world's two largest economies might abandon efforts to resolve their trade disputes.

Following the meeting, Beijing lifted tariffs on some U.S. farm goods it imposed in March and initiated modest purchases of American farm products, including two cargoes of U.S. wheat.

State grain trader COFCO also booked three U.S. soybean cargoes before the leaders met.

However, traders remain cautious, as a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports - including agricultural products - remains in effect, limiting expectations for a broader recovery in trade flows.