Chinese officials are preparing to restart purchases of American corn as soon as January, another sign that the Asian nation is working on a lasting detente with the U.S.
China may buy at least 3 million metric tons of U.S. corn, according to people familiar with the discussions, who declined to be identified as the information is confidential. The imports are likely to start as early as January, following the American soybean purchases, they said.
The government is also considering various options for how to handle the 25% retaliatory tariffs on American corn that China adopted in July, the people said. Current ideas include:
Allowing the U.S. commodity to be purchased as part of a 7.2 million ton annual corn import quota that is only subject to a lower levy
Reimbursing the 25% tariff to buyers purchasing outside the quota
Waiting to purchase until after the 25% tariffs are removed