$17 Billion Farm Deal at Stake as US Presses China on Busan Pact

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday that Beijing must implement its Busan trade commitments "fully and immediately," according to a US Treasury Department statement cited by Al Jazeera.

The meeting followed concerns Washington raised over what the Treasury statement called "recent Chinese actions." The department did not specify those actions in the public statement.

What did Bessent tell China's Vice Premier?

"Secretary Bessent emphasised the importance of China fully and immediately implementing its commitments made in Busan and raised concerns about recent Chinese actions," the Treasury statement said. "He underscored that continued progress depends on concrete results and that the United States will closely assess China's implementation of the arrangement."

Bessent also reiterated the Trump administration's position on broader goals. "Secretary Bessent reiterated the Trump Administration's commitment to pursuing trade and economic policies that benefit American workers, farmers, and businesses and strengthen U.S. economic and national security," the Treasury added.

What is the Busan trade deal?

The agreement traces to talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at easing tariffs and lifting technology restrictions after months of tit-for-tat duties between Washington and Beijing, Al Jazeera reported. The Busan framework followed a September meeting between Trump and Xi, during which the White House proposed $60 billion in tariff cuts, including $17 billion tied to US farm goods.

That farm commitment builds on an earlier pledge. In May, the White House said Beijing had agreed to buy $17 billion of US agricultural goods annually starting in 2026, with this year's target prorated. Those purchases come on top of a separate commitment made last October covering US soybean sales.

Why does China say purchases depend on tariff cuts?

Beijing's position, laid out a day before the Bessent-He meeting, ties any expansion of farm purchases to reciprocal tariff action by Washington. "China has consistently been open to expanding purchases of agricultural products from the US, but only on the condition that the two sides implement their agreed '30 billion for 30 billion' reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement," Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Huang Ling said in a statement reported by Al Jazeera.

That statement frames Chinese compliance as conditional rather than unilateral — a sequencing dispute that sits at the center of the current friction. The US Treasury statement does not address the $30 billion for $30 billion figure directly, instead focusing on the broader Busan commitments and the administration's intent to measure results.

What's in the $30 billion for $30 billion arrangement?

The figure referenced by China's Commerce Ministry refers to a reciprocal tariff-reduction mechanism negotiated alongside the Busan talks, under which both countries would cut tariffs by matching dollar amounts. Al Jazeera's reporting does not detail which specific tariff lines or sectors fall under that $30 billion figure, nor a timetable for implementation.

The farm-purchase figures are more specific. The $17 billion annual agricultural target from May, the additional $17 billion floated in September's $60 billion tariff-cut proposal, and the standing soybean commitment from last October together make up the agricultural piece of the broader trade relationship — one Beijing says it will expand only once the reciprocal tariff cuts take effect.

What's next to watch?

• Whether China takes concrete steps the Treasury Department can point to as implementation of the Busan commitments, given Bessent's statement that Washington will closely assess compliance.
• Whether Washington moves on the reciprocal tariff cuts that Beijing's Commerce Ministry says are a precondition for expanded farm purchases.
• Whether the prorated 2026 agricultural purchase target, set in May, is met by year's end.
• Any follow-up statement from the Treasury Department or China's Commerce Ministry detailing specific actions tied to the $30 billion for $30 billion tariff arrangement.

Neither government has set a public deadline for resolving the dispute over sequencing, according to the statements cited by Al Jazeera. The Treasury's language — that "continued progress depends on concrete results" — leaves open how Washington will judge compliance, and over what time frame.