Wisconsin ginseng growers hopeful China tariff agreement will restore exports

Wisconsin ginseng growers are watching a new U.S.-China agricultural agreement for one detail the White House has not yet provided: whether their crop will regain meaningful access to China, the industry’s main market. Wisconsin Public Radio reported Monday that growers see the deal as a possible release valve after months of disrupted trade and rising tariffs. The White House said Sunday that China will purchase at least $17 billion a year in U.S. agricultural products in 2026, 2027 and 2028, but it did not list product-by-product commitments. China’s role in the ginseng trade is unusually large for Wisconsin because growers say most of the crop is ultimately sold there. ### Why are Wisconsin growers focused so heavily on China? Bob Kaldunski, president of the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin, told WPR that 80% to 85% of Wisconsin ginseng ends up in China. He said the crop is different from mainstream farm commodities because it is used as a traditional Chinese medicine and has fewer substitute markets. A 2022 Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection export guide said Wisconsin farmers account for 95% of total cultivated American ginseng production in the United States. The same guide showed China and Hong Kong as the leading export destinations for Wisconsin ginseng. ### What changed in the latest U.S.-China agreement? The White House said on May 17 that China agreed to purchase at least $17 billion per year of U.S. agricultural products in 2026, 2027 and 2028, in addition to soybean commitments made in October 2025. The fact sheet also said China restored market access for U.S. beef, but it did not mention ginseng by name. (datcp.wi.gov) President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One that China would be buying “billions of dollars of soybeans,” according to WPR. Chinese officials also said tariff reductions were part of the agreement, WPR reported, though the precise treatment of ginseng remained unclear. (whitehouse.gov) ### What happened to ginseng shipments before this deal? Will Hsu, president of Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises in Wausau, told WPR in June 2025 that retaliatory tariffs had largely put his export sales on hold. He said he was still holding more than 80% of his 2024 crop because buyers in China had pulled back. (wpr.org) WPR reported at the time that China’s tariff on U.S. ginseng reached 117% during the April 2025 escalation. After a 90-day pause in May 2025, that import tax fell back to 32.5%, which WPR said had been in place since the end of Trump’s first administration. (wpr.org) ### Why is ginseng harder to redirect than soybeans or beef? Wisconsin soybean farmer Matt Wagenson told WPR that China is a crucial export market for row crops, but soybeans still have broader global demand. Ginseng growers describe a narrower trade pattern because the product is tied to established consumer demand in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. (wpr.org) Hsu told WPR there is no other market in the world that will consume as much ginseng as China. That leaves growers more exposed when tariffs interrupt trade and more dependent on the details of any bilateral agreement. ### What are growers waiting to learn now? (wpr.org) Kaldunski told WPR he had heard from an industry consultant that ginseng was part of the agricultural negotiations, but he said it was still unclear how much of the crop was included in the purchase agreement. That uncertainty matters because the White House announcement set a headline dollar target for agriculture without naming all covered products. (wpr.org) President Trump is expected to host President Xi Jinping in Washington this fall, according to the White House fact sheet. For Wisconsin growers, the next concrete marker is whether U.S. and Chinese officials publish product-specific terms or tariff changes before then. (whitehouse.gov) (wpr.org)