On Thursday, President Trump brought Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House — part of his decade-long effort going back to his first administration to hold China accountable for undercutting American workers and farmers with little consequence. President Trump understands that China is a strategic adversary, not simply a trading partner, and because of that, America came to the table last night in a position of strength.
I share the President’s anger at how American farmers and workers have been taken advantage of. The farmers in southeast Missouri have seen what happens when China floods our market with their products but won’t let American agriculture flow into their country. Under the agreement reached in President Trump’s first term, China agreed to purchase American agricultural products, but in the end bought only 77 percent of the American farm products it promised. As Ways and Means Chairman, which oversees our international trade, I’ve held China accountable by shining a bright spotlight on their failure to live up to their agreements.
I share the President’s anger at how American farmers and workers have been taken advantage of. The farmers in southeast Missouri have seen what happens when China floods our market with their products but won’t let American agriculture flow into their country. Under the agreement reached in President Trump’s first term, China agreed to purchase American agricultural products, but in the end bought only 77 percent of the American farm products it promised. As Ways and Means Chairman, which oversees our international trade, I’ve held China accountable by shining a bright spotlight on their failure to live up to their agreements.
So I was pleased earlier this year when President Trump secured China’s commitment to buy at least 25 million metric tons of American soybeans every year through 2028. That matters for Missouri farmers, as soybeans are our biggest agricultural product by both acreage and value, and I’ll keep pressing until China delivers. I’m also glad to see that additional trade commitments have been reached during President Xi’s visit that will further benefit farmers.
Agriculture isn’t the only sector of our economy that has been taken advantage by China. Our manufacturers have also seen unfair gaming of import restrictions. That’s why I led the effort as part of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill to close a trade loophole that allowed low-value packages to flow into our country duty-free. Beijing abused that loophole for years, with Chinese packages accounting for more than 60 percent of the shipments under this loophole, and closing it gave American manufacturers and workers a fair shot again.
But it isn’t just the economic harm that China has caused that I’m fighting back against. Standing up to China also means making sure we aggressively root out loopholes in our laws that the Chinese Communist Party has utilized to slip into our communities, sometimes without anyone being aware what was happening. As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I’ve spent more than a year investigating and exposing how Chinese-connected non-profits have weaponized our tax code to fund coordinated “protests” and parroted pro-China propaganda encouraging violence.
This week’s visit doesn’t change who China is. What has changed is that America now has leaders willing to confront Beijing and make it keep its word. I’ll never stop fighting to protect Missouri’s farmers, manufacturers, and communities, and make sure the Chinese Communist Party never again gets a free pass at America’s expense.
