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Amid a wide-ranging agenda of complex geopolitical and trade issues, Washington continues to press Beijing, the world’s largest agricultural importer, to increase purchases of soybeans. 

The president listed rare earths, fentanyl and soybeans as the U.S.’s top issues with China just before the two sides return to the negotiating table this week in Malaysia. 

Cutting off cooking oil trade could have wide-ranging effects for the American heartland and in energy markets. Used cooking oil is a feedstock for biofuels such as renewable diesel.

President Donald Trump predicted China will resume purchases of American soybeans after he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.

China, typically the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, still hasn’t booked a single shipment of the crop from this year’s harvest.

But farmers are worried that time is quickly running out to reach a trade deal with China in time to sell any of this year’s crop to their biggest customer.

Trump said Oct. 1 he plans to raise the issue when he meets Xi in South Korea at the end of October. But the clock is already ticking for U.S. soybean growers, with the harvest already under way.

Soybean oil futures fell to the lowest in more than three months as Argentina moved to temporarily scrap export tariffs on the country’s crop cargoes, adding pressure to U.S. soy prices.

The $500 million facility is a venture between BP Products North America and South Dakota Soybean Processors.

The U.S. shipped 2.8 million tons of corn in the week ended Aug. 14, double the amount a year ago and topping the most optimistic forecast from analysts compiled by Bloomberg.