Trump hails China meeting, announces boost for U.S. farmers

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (31 October) that trade negotiations between the United States and Canada will not restart, following the suspension of talks over an advertisement aired by Canada’s Ontario province last week.

Trump told reporters: “I have a very good relationship with him. I like him a lot. But what they did was wrong. He was very polite and apologised for the false advertisement. We had a great dinner with other countries. Personally, I think our relationship is strong, and I appreciate that he apologised.”

The U.S. president also spoke positively about his recent meeting with China, describing the talks as “incredible” and “long-lasting.” “Our farmers are seeing numbers they’ve never seen before, and they are very happy. I suggest they go out and buy larger tractors and more land,” Trump said.

During the meeting, the U.S. and China discussed strengthening trade relations, maintaining rare earth exports, increasing U.S. soybean purchases, and cracking down on illicit fentanyl. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later confirmed that China has agreed to purchase 12 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans by January and 25 million tonnes annually over the next three years.

The new agreement has been welcomed by U.S. farmers, who had increasingly turned to South American supplies in recent months amid broader trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

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