Karoline Leavitt Criticized After False Claim About China’s Soybean Purchases and Trump’s Role

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt drew sharp criticism after telling Newsmax that China had stopped buying U.S. soybeans during the Biden administration — a timeline that conflicts with public data showing Chinese purchases halted this past May amid fallout from tariffs enacted during former President Donald Trump’s term.

On the program Leavitt defended Mr. Trump’s trade posture, saying:

“Following his successful meeting with President Xi Jinping in South Korea, President Trump convinced President Xi to continue purchasing, or begin purchasing again, American soybeans, which is something China wasn’t doing under the last administration because they had no respect for President Biden or for the country at the time.”

She added:

“But now they know President Trump is not messing around. He’s going to stand up for American farmers and American families. And so those purchases have begun from China, and American soybeans are being exported from the United States as we speak because of President Trump. He promised the farmers he would be there for them. He is delivering on that promise.”

Context And Data

According to the American Soybean Association and reporting by outlets such as Politico, China has not purchased U.S. soybeans since May, instead shifting large orders to suppliers in Brazil and Argentina. Analysts and historical trade data point to tariffs and trade tensions — including those from the Trump-era tariff fights — as a key factor in that shift.

During the height of the U.S.-China tariff dispute in 2018, the value of U.S. soybean exports to China fell sharply, from roughly $14 billion in 2016 to about $3.1 billion in 2018. That earlier disruption is often cited as a precedent for how trade policy can reshape agricultural markets.

Political Response

Leavitt’s timeline was quickly challenged online by economists, policy experts and journalists. Erica York of the Federal Tax Policy Foundation shared a chart showing the decline in soybean purchases tied to the earlier tariff disputes and asked rhetorically which president oversaw major drops in exports. Political science professor Branislav Slantchev and other commentators said Leavitt’s remarks reversed the historical record and pointed to Trump’s trade policies as having harmed farmers.

On Monday, Mr. Trump announced a $12 billion aid package intended to help growers who lost access to foreign markets — a move critics say both acknowledges market damage and echoes previous emergency farm aid used during and after trade disruptions.

Why It Matters

The episode highlights ongoing political debate over responsibility for disruptions to agricultural exports, the limits of trade diplomacy, and whether emergency aid addresses or obscures underlying market shifts caused by tariffs and trade policy. Accurate timelines and clear attribution are critical when officials cite trade developments as policy victories.