Statement on behalf of Doug Rebout, President, Wisconsin Soybean Association

Wisconsin soybean farmers are fed up. The U.S. government’s decision to extend a $20 billion swap line to Argentina, just as China rushed to purchase 20 shiploads of Argentine soybeans, underscores the damage our own leaders are inflicting on American agriculture.

For years, U.S. soybean growers have carried the weight of a costly and prolonged trade war with China, our single largest soybean customer. During that time, our competitors in Brazil, and now Argentina, have been empowered by U.S. policy choices to seize the very markets our farmers built over decades. This is not simply unfortunate timing. It is a direct assault on the livelihoods of U.S. farm families.

Wisconsin farmers are not asking for government handouts. We are demanding fairness. While our soybeans pile up unsold and prices sink, our government has chosen to funnel billions into a competing nation, only to watch their soybeans sail straight to China. This decision is indefensible, and it signals to rural America that our contributions to food security, trade and the broader economy are being taken for granted.

The Wisconsin Soybean Association calls on President Trump and his administration to immediately resolve the trade war with China, restore access to this vital market, and stop undermining the very farmers who feed and fuel this nation. Anything less is unacceptable.

About the Wisconsin Soybean Association

Established in 1973, WSA leads soybean advocacy on behalf of Wisconsin’s nearly 17,000 soybean farmers. It works to shape farm-friendly policies in Madison and Washington, D.C.