CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Corn, soybean barge bids ease as new US tariffs take effect

CHICAGO, March 4 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for corn and soybeans delivered by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast eased on Tuesday, as futures plunged on heightened concerns that President Donald Trump's trade policies will disrupt U.S. agricultural exports, traders said.

U.S. President Donald Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20%, sparking trade wars that could slam economic growth and lift prices for Americans still smarting from years of high inflation.

China responded immediately, announcing additional tariffs of 10%-15% on certain U.S. imports from March 10 and a series of new export restrictions for designated U.S. entities.

The tariffs chilled Chinese buying of U.S. meat and grain, traders said. Instead, some Chinese buyers used the slump in Chicago Board of Trade soybean prices to hunt for Brazilian soybean cargoes, two traders said.

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell to their lowest levels in 2025, and soybean futures dropped below $10 a bushel.

CIF soybean barges that were loaded in February were bid down 1 cent at 91 cents over CBOT March futures SH25, while March loadings were bid 2 cents lower at 86 cents over futures.

FOB export premiums for March soybean loadings were around 81 cents over CBOT May futures SK25, down 1 cent.

CIF corn barges that were loaded in February were bid at 63 cents over CBOT May futures CK25, down 1 cent from earlier in the day. March barges were bid a penny lower at 60 cents over May futures.

Export premiums for corn loaded in March were around 75 cents over May futures, down 1 cent.

For displays of CIF basis, click on the codes in brackets:
U.S. CIF Gulf soybeans GRYM
U.S. CIF Gulf corn GRYN
U.S. CIF Gulf SRW wheat GRYO
U.S. CIF Gulf HRW wheat GRYP
For displays of FOB basis, please click on the following codes in brackets:
U.S. FOB Gulf corn GRZC
U.S. FOB Gulf soybeans GRZD
U.S. FOB Gulf SRW wheat GRZE
U.S. FOB Gulf HRW wheat GRZF

LINKS Corn prices page:   cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=corn-cash-market
Wheat prices page:  cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=wheat-cash-market
U.S. barge freight                  BG/US
U.S. export sales estimates         USDA/EST
U.S. grain export summary           GRA/U
Brazil soybean export prices        SYBS
Brazil corn export prices           SYBX
Argentina grain prices              GRA/ARG
Russia grain prices                 GRA/RU