American farmers, now struggling due to President Donald Trump's chaotic tariff policies, are in the middle of the annual soybean harvest.

And Trump has a plan – to rescue Argentina – even as that country exacerbates the economic harm felt by American soybean farmers.

Trump has always valued a slapdash scramble on the fly more than a long-term, cohesive plan. Just consider how this has played out in recent weeks. Soybeans are planted in May or June and harvested in September and October. Everyone, farmers and politicians, knows that timeline.

In 2024, American soybeans were a nearly $25 billion export, with China as the top importer, spending $12.6 billion.

A year later, thanks to Trump's frenetic tariff spree, China has so far bought zero American soybeans. The largest customer for American farmers is shopping somewhere else, just as the crop is coming in.

Guess where that takes us: Argentina is more than happy to sell China soybeans. China bought a quarter of Argentina's soybean crop on Sept. 23, 7 million metric tons. And China got a good deal, since Argentina

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