President Trump calls China's abrupt refusal to buy American soybeans an "economically hostile act." He's right. It's market warfare.

Zeroing in on a smart negotiation tool, President Trump stated on Truth Social, "We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil." It's clear to experienced soybean farmers like my husband that President Trump was talking about Used Cooking Oil (UCO), not canola oil. It's also clear to those of us in agriculture that he wasn't just talking tough; he was applying a smart and strategic negotiation tool while identifying one of the most overlooked opportunities for American energy independence, agricultural strength, and environmental responsibility.

Across the nation, farmers are struggling. For example, in Arkansas, Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy filings in Q1 of 2025 exceeded the total for all of 2024. Rising input costs, falling commodity prices, adverse weather, and trade disruptions have pushed many farms to the brink.

The cause of the current crisis is no mystery. For decades, American soybean farmers had a reliable buyer in China. In 2009, Beijing began building infrastructure in Brazil. In 2024, China completed construction of a deepwater port in Peru, and railroads and highways over the Andes, locking in........

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