Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump escalated trade tensions with China on Tuesday, threatening to halt imports of Chinese cooking oil in retaliation for Beijing’s recent refusal to purchase American soybeans.

In a post on Truth Social post, Donald Trump accused China  of engaging in an “Economically Hostile Act” by deliberately cutting off purchases of U.S. soybeans  a move he claims is intended to harm American farmers.

“China is purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers,” Trump wrote. “As an example, we can easily produce Cooking Oil ourselves, we don’t need to purchase it from China .”

Trump suggested that ending business with China  on cooking oil  along with “other elements of Trade” was under active consideration as a form of “retribution.”

The remarks come as U.S. soybean farmers reel from a sudden halt in Chinese purchases. Although China  had imported approximately 27 million metric tons of American soybeans in 2024, valued at nearly $12.8 billion, it has not bought any since May, according to trade data.

Instead, China has turned to South American producers, particularly Argentina, to meet its soybean needs. Notably, Argentina suspended its export taxes on soybeans earlier this year — coinciding with  $20 billion currency swap  deal announced by the Trump administration aimed at stabilizing Argentina’s economy.

The Trump campaign has increasingly focused on agricultural trade as a central issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, highlighting China’s shifting commodity purchases as both an economic and geopolitical flashpoint.