GRAINS-Chicago grains and soybeans extend losses as trade fights roil

By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, March 12 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and oilseeds extended losses on Wednesday after a government crop report showed more U.S. corn inventories than expected, while the latest U.S. tariffs and European counter-measures fuelled concerns about trade disruption, traders said.

President Donald Trump's increased tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to reorder global trade in favor of the U.S. and drawing swift retaliation from Canada and Europe.

The European Union announced counter-tariffs on up to 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods from next month - including agricultural products such as soybeans, almonds and pork. And Canada, the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, said it will announce C$29.8 billion ($20.7 billion) in retaliatory tariffs.

The most active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Cv1 was down 2.34% at $4.59-1/4 a bushel at 1629 GMT, dropping to a one-week low.

CBOT soybeans Sv1 were down 1.26% at $9.98-1/2 a bushel, on track to end lower for a fourth straight session. CBOT wheat Wv1 shed 0.67% to $5.53 a bushel.

The retaliation has traders worried about the impact on U.S. corn and soybean exports to the EU, said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics, after China already shifted towards South American supplies following a tariff battle during Trump's first term.

"You're seeing more aggressive behavior from trade partners now than you did during the first Trump administration," Zuzolo said. "The thinking is they see this as a deal-making administration. They're hitting the U.S. as hard as they can and try to get him to walk some of this back."

Competition from South America also weighed over soybean futures, traders said.

Brazil's soybean exports are expected to reach 15.45 million metric tons in March, up more than 4% compared with last week's forecast, as the country continues to harvest its massive new crop, according to data from the grain exporters lobby Anec.