Fake news alert: Hey, CNN, China IS buying our soybeans
(National Sentinel) False Narrative: On Wednesday, CNN syndicated a news story that attacked POTUS Donald Trump — nothing new there — for claiming that China was purchasing soybeans from American farmers when Beijing had yet to do so.
Shortly after the president began implementing a tariff regime against China as a means of leveling the massive trade imbalance and as a way of punishing the Chinese for stealing American technology, Beijing retaliated by cutting off soybean purchases.
U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators have been working toward an agreement that would see China open its markets to more American commodities and manufactured products — and without requiring/demanding that U.S. firms agree to technology transfers at the same time.
One of the aspects of those negotiations has been agricultural products and soybeans in particular.
Wednesday’s CNN report was headlined, “Trump promised China would buy more soybeans. American farmers are still waiting.”
The story came after POTUS Trump said on Tuesday that China had agreed to begin new purchases of soybeans.
The president’s claim was corroborated by The Wall Street Journal:
Beijing’s top trade negotiator, Mr. Liu, has told his U.S. counterparts, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, that China is planning to reduce auto tariffs and boost purchases of soybeans and other crops.
And on Thursday during an appearance on Fox Business with host Maria Bartiromo, White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro said specifically that not only has China purchased American soybeans but that they really don’t have much choice because China is the world’s largest pork producer — and hogs need soybeans:
Interestingly but not surprisingly, CNN went on to report this little detail much further down in the story:
Farmers, who don’t sell soybeans overseas directly, may not be the first to know about new orders from abroad.
And this was even after Reuters reported that state-owned companies in China bought $180 million worth of soybeans from the U.S. on Wednesday.
Why would CNN publish a story like this, then, even quoting a couple of Iowa soybean farmers who claimed they hadn’t heard of any new soybean deal with China?
To bash POTUS Trump, of course.
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