Trump Raises Stakes in Trade War with China, Threatens Cooking Oil Embargo Over Soybean Dispute
President Donald Trump has intensified trade tensions with China, threatening to halt all cooking oil trade between the two nations. This move comes in response to Beijing’s refusal to purchase U.S. soybeans since May.
Trump expressed his concerns on Truth Social, stating that China’s deliberate decision not to buy American soybeans is an “Economically Hostile Act”. He further threatened to terminate cooking oil trade “and other elements of Trade, as retribution,” arguing that the U.S. has the capacity to produce its own cooking oil and does not need to rely on China.
The proposed embargo primarily targets China’s exports of used cooking oil (UCO) to the U.S., which amounted to $286.7 million in the first eight months of 2025. This threat marks the latest escalation in the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions, following Trump’s earlier pledge to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting November 1.
China, once the largest buyer of American soybeans worth $12.5 billion in 2024, has completely halted purchases since May amid the escalating trade war.
The news of the potential embargo has caused a surge in agricultural commodity stocks. Bunge Global saw a jump of over 4%, and Archer-Daniels-Midland experienced a rise of around 3% as investors anticipate reduced Chinese competition in the cooking oil market.
Source: CNBC