China’s official: Will not change annual import purchase quotas of farm goods from US

China will not change its agricultural import quotas to accommodate any increased purchases from the US, China’s Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Han Jun, said in an interview with Caixin on Tuesday.

Additional Details (via Caixin):

China will not increase its annual low-tariff import quotas for corn, wheat and rice to accommodate stepped-up purchases of farm goods from the United States

The report raises further questions about how China will meet a target of spending billions of dollars more on US agricultural goods as the two countries look to reach an initial agreement to calm an extended trade war. 

The quota is offered to global markets and "we won't adjust it for one country."

The agriculture ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China is allocating 7.2 million tons of imported corn in 2020 and only 60% of that can be carried out by state-owned enterprises (SOE).

At the same time 90% of the wheat import quota, or 9.64 million tons for 2020, is allocated for SOEs.

This comes ahead of the US-China phase one trade deal signing, scheduled on January 15^th, with the Chinese delegation likely to travel to Washington from January 13^th to 15^th, as cited by various media on Monday.

The above headline had little to no impact on the market sentiment, as risk reset seems to be the main theme so far in Tuesday’s Asian trading amid fading US-Iran geopolitical worries.