Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., slammed the Trump administration Thursday for presiding over a near-total decline in soybean exports to China, blaming President Trump's trade dispute for hurting her state's farmers.

"There were ZERO U.S. soybean exports to China last week, typically one of the strongest export weeks of the year," the embattled lawmaker tweeted. "The administration’s #tradewar is an unfolding disaster for North Dakota soybean farmers."



There were ZERO U.S. soybean exports to China last week, typically one of the strongest export weeks of the year. The administration’s #tradewar is an unfolding disaster for North Dakota soybean farmers. pic.twitter.com/N4dW4CvIbL — Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (@SenatorHeitkamp) October 25, 2018

Exports of U.S. soybeans to China have fallen 97 percent below the level of previous years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The group attributed the massive drop-off to the tariffs placed on the beans by China as a result of its trade war with the Trump administration.

"The retaliatory tariffs of 28 percent on U.S.-sourced soybeans have resulted in a sharp decline in China’s purchases," the bureau reported this week.

While China wasn't buying, however, others were. The bureau reported that the U.S. has shipped soybeans to 11 more countries this year than it did last year, and they were buying higher volumes, too. "Of the 41 countries buying U.S. soybeans, 26 have increased their purchase volumes, representing an increase of 99 million bushels and offsetting the 248 million-bushel decline in exports to the remaining 15 trading partners."

Those increases have only partially covered for the loss of China markets, however. Exports out of the Mississippi River region are 36 percent, or 85 million bushels, below last year's levels. Exports from the Pacific Northwest are down 55 million bushels from the previous year.