The Trump administration upped the ante in the trade war with China this week, saying it would slap 10 percent tariffs on an extra $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. Last week, Washington imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports. The ongoing U.S.-China trade situation resulted in further price erosion for soybeans and products this week. There's also talk that additional tariffs may come into play if the Chinese attempt to counter by placing more tariffs on U.S. goods. Additional price pressure came from a bearish USDA report that increased 2018 soybean production to 4.3 billion bushels making a big crop a little bigger. For the first time USDA incorporated the impact of Chinese soybean import duties into their estimates, which drove exports down 250 million bushels, and boosted domestic soybean ending stocks to 580 million bushels, up from 385 million bushels in June. USDA also boosted global soybean ending stocks for both new crop and old crop substantially. In addition, the average U.S. farmgate price for soybeans was lowered. Old and new crop sunflower prices continued to slide this week at the crush plants. The price premium new crop had over old crop is evaporating as the market is starting to reflect market fundamentals for this time of year. Sunflower trading will be influenced to a greater extent by crop conditions and progress along with weather conditions in the near term.