Chad Smith, NAFB News Service

President Donald Trump gave what could be called a “qualified endorsement” of China’s attempts to meet its purchasing obligations under the Phase One Trade Deal. While commenting on the measures that the government is taking to protect the U.S. economy, agriculture came up in the conversation. The South China Morning Post quotes Trump as saying American farmers could expect some support from agricultural purchases that China will make as part of the agreement. “As of April 1, it seems like China is buying,” the president says. “We’ll let you know how that’s going, but they’re buying anywhere from $40 – $50 billion worth of our agricultural products, which will have a huge impact on our farmers.” Trump is confident that China will follow through because “I know and respect President Xi (ZHEE), and I think he’ll honor the deal that China made with us.” Without specifying who he talked to, Trump added, “In fact, I called up a while ago and asked how farmers are doing concerning China. Are they buying as anticipated?” Trump says the answer was “yeah, I think so.” He told reporters that the answer wasn’t the “most positive,” but it was at least starting.