According to Bloomberg media outlet, citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter, the Chinese government has approved new waivers to several domestic state and private firms, excepting them from tit-for-tat tariffs on soybeans imported from the US.
New waivers would apply to between 2 million tonnes and 3 million tonnes of US soybeans.
The US and China have been engaged in a trade conflict since March 2018, when the Trump administration imposed the first round of its additional trade duties on Chinese goods, worth $50-60 billion. More than 1,300 categories of Chinese imports were made subject to tariffs, including aircraft parts, batteries, flat-panel televisions, medical devices, satellites, and various weapons. This prompted a reciprocal response from Beijing that affected 128 US products, including aluminium, airplanes, cars, pork, and soybeans.
Soybeans constitute a major portion of US exports to China. Soybean sales drastically plummeted amid the trade dispute, hurting US farmers by dropping 74% in 2018 compared to the previous year.