Trump’s Trade Mission to Asia Has Ups, Downs As Soybean Deal Signed, TPP Back On Without U.S.

(Agriculture.com) –  President Trump’s trade mission to Asia has had its wins, but also had seen some losses.

The good news is his foray to China helped land a couple of letters-of-intent from the country to buy an additional 12 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2017-2018 marketing year valued at around $5 billion.

The agreements, to be sure, are non-binding and are among a series of trade deals announced during the president’s visit to Beijing. The first agreement was reportedly between the China Chamber of Commcer on Foodstuffs and Native Produce for $3.4 billion, and the second is between ADM and COFCO for about $1.6 billion.

Some traders have said the deal is a mere formality and likely won’t affect markets.

Eleven countries on the Pacific Rim late last week agreed to keep the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement that the U.S. backed out of earlier this year, in what some see as a rebuke to Trump’s so-called America First Policy.

The announcement that the countries formed the agreement came as Trump neared the end of his trip to Asia. The countries that signed the agreement said they agreed on its “core elements.”

One administration official told the Washington Post that the new TPP deal doesn’t mean the U.S. will be left behind in Asia, and that the president is involved in trade discussions with several partners in the region.