Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett He said Sunday that he too has “felt pain” for Porcelain refuse to buy products grown in the USA. soy during a trade conflict with the president donald trump because “I’m actually a soybean farmer.”

Bessent’s comment came during an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” where he said that trade negotiations with China over the past two days had led to a “substantial framework” that he believed would alleviate American soybeans farmers’ concerns about the boycott.

Trump to meet with Chinese president later this week Xi Jinping in South Korea.

Bessent, former hedge fund executive whose net worth is estimated by Forbes Asked about the soybean boycotts, which are estimated to be around $600 million, “This Week” host Martha Raddatz noted that “American farmers have really suffered.”

In 2023 and 2024, China purchased more than half of the soybeans grown in the United States, representing almost $12.8 billion in 2024.

But after Trump started a trade war with Beijing earlier this year, China stopped buying soybeans.

“Do you see a real light at the end of the tunnel? Can they allow soy again?” -Raddetz asked.

Bessent responded: “Martha, in case you don’t know, I’m actually a soybean farmer, so I’ve felt this pain too.”

bessent government financial disclosure shows that he owns soybean and corn farmland in North Dakota that has an estimated value of between $5 million and $25 million.

Of that disclosure, Bessent said the farmland generates between $100,000 and $1 million in rental income for him annually.

The Treasury Secretary told Raddatz on Sunday: “I think we’ve addressed farmers’ concerns, and I’m not going to get ahead of the president, but I think when the deal announcement with China is made public, our soybean farmers will feel very good about what’s happening both for this season and for years to come.”