A ‘soybean farmer’ himself, Treasury Sec. Bessent said he’s feeling ‘pain’ from China, too

China, the largest buyer of American soybeans, halted purchases in May, threatening the income of hundreds of thousands of farmers. Ben Brewer/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Hundreds of thousands of American soybean farmers are suffering from a monthslong effective embargo by China as part of a global trade war. Among them: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“I’m actually a soybean farmer,” Bessent said over the weekend in an ABC News interview. “I have felt this pain, too,” he told Martha Raddatz.

China, usually the largest buyer of American soybeans by far, significantly increased tariffs on the legumes in May after President Donald Trump enacted import levies on Chinese goods. Since then, China hasn’t purchased any American soybeans.

But the pain from that de facto boycott might not be s