South America03 October, 20262 min read
China Expands Latin America Farm Trade as Tariff Cuts Intensify Competition With U.S. Agriculture
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
65% of Latin Americans view China positively, vs 57% for the United States. China's growing farm-trade role includes soybeans, meat, tariffs, and new port activity.
5 outlets told this the same way.
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China gains, U.S. watches
China’s growing role in Latin America is reshaping farm trade as soybeans, meat, tariffs and new ports intensify competition with U.S. agriculture. Latinobarómetro data cited by AgroLatam shows 65% of Latin Americans view China’s influence positively, compared with 57% for the United States. AgroLatam says merchandise trade between China and Latin America grew from just over $14 billion in 2000 to more than $500 billion in 2024, and China has overtaken the United States as South America’s largest trading partner.
AgroLatam links the shift to export scale, saying Brazilian agribusiness exports reached a record $169.2 billion in 2025, with China purchasing $55.3 billion, or 32.7% of the total. AgroLatam adds that on September 28 China announced tariff reductions covering a broad range of U.S. agricultural products, while soybeans were excluded and continue to face an additional 10% tariff.
Survey shifts favorability
The Economist’s Latinobarómetro survey, as reported by China Daily, found favorable views of China increased in 15 of the 17 Latin American countries surveyed. Favorable views of the United States declined in 15 of the 17 countries over the same period, and The Economist said, "For the first time, in a historically pro-American region, more Latin Americans now see China's influence as positive than that of the United States." Al Jazeera reports that the 2026 Latinobarometro survey found that 65 percent of respondents in 17 countries saw China as a positive influence, compared with 57 percent who said the same of the US.
Al Jazeera says the survey was based on about 19,200 face-to-face interviews conducted in 17 countries between May 7 and June 17, with a margin of error of 1 percent. El Economista adds that Marta Lagos, director of Latinobarómetro, said Latin America learned to "bat back" against "the waves in the world" and drew closer to China, the European Union, and Japan.
Trade, ports, and politics
AgroLatam says logistics infrastructure connecting South America with Asia is expanding, and it reports that from January through September 2025, 62% of Peru's agricultural exports to China moved through Chancay, which began operations in November 2024.
China accounted for 78% of all exports shipped through the terminal during that period, and it frames Chancay as an example of how new infrastructure can strengthen South America’s trans-Pacific connectivity.
Latinobarómetro director Marta Lagos told AFP that China’s rise in the region is tied to allowing access to goods previously out of reach, "thanks to prices far lower than other imports."
U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term came during the findings, as his administration sought to strengthen Washington’s influence in Latin America, including conducting strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the region.
The survey asked respondents about the US military capture of Maduro, and a majority in all but one country, Argentina, approved of Maduro’s capture by US forces.