President Trump threatens to stop importing Chinese cooking oil amid escalating trade tensions

According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump on October 14 accused China of economic aggression by deliberately stopping soybean imports from the US, and warned that Washington could completely cut off edible oil imports from Beijing as a retaliatory measure.

President Trump's post on the social network Truth Social. Screenshot from Truthsocial.com

Speaking on the Truth Social platform, President Trump said that China is deliberately avoiding buying soybeans from the US. He affirmed that the US is fully capable of producing its own cooking oil, without having to depend on imports from China.

The move comes after Beijing announced tighter controls on exports of rare earths and other high-tech goods, prompting Washington to warn of additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods. Mr. Trump stressed that the US could retaliate by ending imports of used cooking oil from China, an increasingly popular commodity in the biofuel industry.

China’s used cooking oil exports hit a record high in 2024, with the US being the largest market, accounting for 43% of the total, according to the US Department of Agriculture . However, trade activity dropped sharply at the end of the year after Beijing cut its export tax rebate policy.

On the other hand, China has not purchased any soybeans from the US this year, instead switching to other sources such as Brazil and Argentina. This is considered a factor increasing tensions before the expected summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea at the end of October 2025.

The two countries also began imposing new port fees on each other’s goods this week. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Financial Times that China was looking to export its way out of its economic crisis, but that only further damaged Beijing’s global reputation.

Trump had previously struck a conciliatory tone, reassuring the public that tensions with China would be resolved peacefully, while suggesting that Beijing’s tightening of rare earth exports was merely a knee-jerk reaction from President Xi Jinping.

Rush Doshi, an expert at Georgetown University, said that the threat of banning cooking oil imports from China would hardly create significant pressure in negotiations. According to him, Beijing could see this as a sign of weakness from Washington.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thi-truong-tien-te/tong-thong-trump-de-doa-dung-nhap-dau-an-trung-quoc-giua-cang-thang-thuong-mai-leo-thang-20251015094506048.htm