The American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) broadcasted a live interview with the President of the American Soybean Association, Caleb Lagrange, on Saturday.In the footage, Lagrange sat on a tractor, again mentioning that the U.S. soybeans are currently in the harvest season, but China's order volume is "zero".He urged U.S. President Trump: What we need is strong markets and opportunities, and the Chinese market is vital to our livelihoods.

Earlier this month, in an interview with the U.S. magazine Fortune, Lagrange warned that U.S. soybeans had arrived in the harvest season, but China, which has always been the largest buyer, has not made any orders, and the situation faces "extremely severe".

In the latest interview on the 19th, when asked what impact China would have on himself and the American economy if it didn't buy soybeans from the United States, ragland said, "What we need is a strong market and opportunities. China is our biggest export customer. Soybean is the agricultural product with the largest export volume (of the United States). At present, American soybeans are in the harvest season, but China's order volume is zero, which is a warning to the American soybean industry.

"There are half a million soybean growers in the United States, and the Chinese market is crucial to our livelihood," Ragland said.

Ragland said that many farmers, including himself, have no other source of income except the farm. "When your biggest customer suddenly disappears, the situation is very bad". He also said that due to tariffs, U.S. soybeans are at a price disadvantage compared to their South American counterparts, which is 20% higher than them, which makes U.S. soybeans uncompetitive. "We need to change, and we need it now".

Asked what he wanted to say to Trump, Lagrange said, ¡°We need the Chinese market, we need immediate action, not empty talk.¡±Lagrange said soybean exports are seasonal, sales and logistics need to be planned, so it is necessary to act immediately and if you wait a few months, the Chinese market will turn to Brazilian soybeans, which will start harvesting in January and February next year.

On August 19, Lagrange wrote to Trump that U.S. soybean growers are facing "great" financial pressure.The worse the impact on U.S. soybean farmers is the later the U.S. reaches an agreement with China on soybean exports as the harvest season comes quickly.

According to a report released by the American Soybean Association, in the seven years before 2018, an average of 28% of soybeans produced in the United States were exported to China, accounting for 60% of total soybean exports in the United States during the same period. In the 2023-2024 market year (September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024), the United States exported nearly 25 million tons of soybeans to China, far exceeding the 4.9 million tons exported to the European Union, the second largest market.