Argentina’s soybean export orders surged to a seven-year high this month as Chinese importers bought millions of tonnes of the staple crop during a brief suspension of export taxes, securing more than half of their near-term needs from South America.
Friction over the latest orders became apparent when a photographer captured US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reading a text message that referenced the transactions during the UN General Assembly in New York. The image has been all over the news in Argentina in recent days.
The message, which is assumed to have been forwarded by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins because it is signed “BR”, carried the words of Iowa grain trader Ben Scholl, who was furious about Washington’s financial support for Buenos Aires.
“Just a heads up. I am getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate. We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, Argentina removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price to China at a time when we would normally be selling to China,” the message read.
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