American soybean and beef producers are warning of mounting losses as U.S. tariffs trigger responsive measures from China, cutting off a once-lucrative market and handing key export opportunities to competitors in Brazil and Australia.

"This is a five-alarm fire for our industry," said Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer and president of the American Soybean Association, in an interview with the Associated Press. "We've had your back, President (Donald) Trump. We need you to have ours now."

Behind Ragland's plea lies stark data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: China, once the largest buyer of American soybeans, has not purchased a single shipment since May. In contrast, in 2024 China bought $12.5 billion worth of U.S. soybeans – more than half of total American exports that year.

For seven years prior to the trade war, U.S. soybean exports to China averaged 60 percent of the total, according to the American Soybean Association.

"Farmers are suffering terrible losses," said Jennifer Fahy, co-executive director of Farm Aid, a nonprofit advocating for farmers, in an interview with Newsweek. Acknowledging farmers told her they are losing $100 to $200 per acre this year, Fahy warned losses are "not economic blips, but potentially long-term or permanently lost markets due to ricocheting tariffs."

Though President Trump said he would use some tariff revenue to support farmers, Ragland stressed that the real priority is securing lasting trade agreements – particularly with China – that enable producers to sell crops and build sustainable markets.

U.S. beef exporters are also feeling the impact. Australian and Brazilian producers have gained ground in China after Beijing allowed permits at hundreds of American meat facilities to expire in March, in response to U.S. tariffs. U.S. shipments to China, once worth about $120 million a month, collapsed soon after.

From April through August, U.S. beef exports to China were $388 million lower than they would have been had trade continued at the average pace of the previous two years. During the same period, Australian exports surged by $313 million, while Brazil, China's largest beef supplier, also stepped up shipments, Reuters reported.

Trade negotiations between China and the U.S. could eventually unlock the market, U.S. Meat Export Federation spokesperson Joe Schuele told Reuters. "The beef impasse with China has very little to do with beef," he said. "It's entangled in other issues between the U.S. and China. If they can make progress on those issues, we see more hope for getting this resolved."

(With input from agencies)