Minnesota farmers are relieved after President Donald Trump reached a tentative agreement with China to resume purchasing soybeans on Wednesday, reported Farm Policy News.

Last week, China agreed to suspend its retaliatory tariffs on American farm goods, reported Reuters. Despite the agreement, a 13% tariff on American soybeans remains.

Ed Usset, a professor at the Center for Farm Financial Management, said soybeans are the second most produced crop in Minnesota. America’s top buyer of soybeans is China.

“China’s a huge player. Without those exporter sales, the whole system backs up. We’ve got nowhere to go with the soybeans,” Usset said.​

Usset said without an agreement, farmers would have to sell to other countries at lower profit margins.  ​

Gary Wertish from the Minnesota Farmers Union said the uncertainty from the trade war has caused farmers to sell their soybeans before the deal.

“It’s good news, but at the same time, it’s pretty much exactly what we were doing before the president started this trade war, again,” Wertish said. “It’s not going to help a lot of farmers anymore because they’ve already sold their beans. We need to trade. There’s no doubt about that, but it’s a little bit frustrating.”

This comes after Trump implemented tariffs on major import countries such as China, Canada and Mexico by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in April.​ The act allows the president to regulate economic transactions following a declaration of national emergency. Congress typically controls federal spending, according to the U.S. Constitution. 

Attorney General Keith Ellison and other judges from the United States went to the Supreme Court on Wednesday to contest Trump’s use of the IEEPA.

Trump garnered about 47% of Minnesota’s vote in the 2024 presidential election, which most came from rural counties. Historically, rural areas tend to be right-leaning politically, while urban areas lean more left. 

Ellison said the recent tariffs have hurt Minnesota farmers.

“President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are making that harder for countless Minnesotans by raising prices on everything from food to clothing to cars and so much more,” Ellison said in a statement. “That’s why I challenged Trump’s unlawful and harmful tariffs in court, and why today our coalition argued our case in front of the Supreme Court.” 

During Trump’s first term, his administration paid farmers through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodity Credit Corporation to help alleviate farmers’ shortfalls in 2021. This credit was used to provide more than $20 billion in subsidies. Now the corporation has around $4 billion remaining, reported the Minnesota Reformer.

Usset said soybean prices have been down for a couple of years. Selling soybeans helps pay for farmers’ equipment and materials for growing. The price for soybeans was $9-$10 per bushel in 2024. This year, the soybean prices are around $10, according to Farmbucks. ​

More Minnesota farmers have had to file for mediation or advice from a banker before foreclosure through September than in all of 2023 and 2024 combined, according to Wertish.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis reported Ninth District states, which include Minnesota, have seen an increase in farmers filing for bankruptcy in 2024.

Mark Legvold has a family-owned farm in Northfield, Minnesota. Each year, he switches between harvesting corn and soybeans. Legvold said he sold his soybeans before the tentative deal was announced.

“I look at that as I lost about $1.75 on my soybeans if I had sold them two weeks after I finished my soybean harvest,” Legvold said.

Wertish said some aid from the government is helpful, but farmers are looking for a sense of economic stability.

“I think we just want some stability from our government,” Wertish said. “The instability has caused a lot of stress.” 

While Legvold is glad for a deal between one of the top buyers of soybeans, he said he is worried about the market becoming stable again.

“I’m taking a wait-and-see approach to this,” Legvold said.  “I have no faith that the markets are going to be any less stable with someone who operates his trade and tariff policies based on his own emotions rather than any kind of strategic planning.”

Correction: A previous version misstated the amount of in subsidies provided to farmers in 2021 and how much the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation has left. The correct numbers are $20 billion and $4 billion, respectively.