Ships steam to China with US cargoes as tensions escalate

Bloomberg

As the US-China trade war escalates, speculation is swirling over whether the Asian nation will honour purchases of American products including soybeans and cotton that are yet to be delivered.
At least 10 bulk carrier cargoes are in transit, while at least one vessel managed to offload its US cargo on the weekend as tensions between Washington and Beijing flared. Bulk carrier Fiji arrived in Dalian, waiting a week before congestion cleared to enter port.
The cargo originated from Export Grain Terminal Longview in the Pacific Northwest with 67,113 metric tons of soybeans, according to US Department of Agriculture and IHS shipping data analysed by Bloomberg. China has bought about 7.4 million tons of US soybeans that haven’t been shipped yet, USDA data show.
Another 468,000 tons of American corn, 103,000 tons of pork and 704,000 running bales of cotton also have been sold but not yet shipped to China, according to the USDA.
“The shipments of the sales on the books have been slow-walked recently,” said St Louis-based independent analyst Ken Morrison. “The risk of possible cancellations just got higher.”
There is similar anxiety for US cotton orders. “What we’ve sold to them, people are concerned they are not going to take that,” said Jody Campiche, vice president of economics and policy analysis for the National Cotton Council of America.
China announced higher tariffs on dozens of products, including soy-based biodiesel even though China has imported virtually none of the fuel from the US this year. The increased levies are set to go into effect from June 1.