Corn and soybean farmer Don Swanson prepares to harvest corn with other Iowa farmers as they grapple with weather and ongoing tariffs from the U.S.-China trade war that continue to impact farm operations in Eldon, Iowa, Oct. 4, 2019.
Kia Johnson | Reuters
President Donald Trump announced Monday that his administration will provide $12 billion in aid to farmers struggling with the trade war between the United States and its major economic partners.
President Trump said at a White House roundtable that the money would come from U.S. tariff revenue.
Most of that money, up to $11 billion, will go to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, which provides one-time payments to raw crop farmers, a White House official told CNBC earlier Monday.
The remaining $1 billion will be retained as USDA assesses changing market conditions, the person said.
The event was attended by the president, as well as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, as well as members of Congress and farmers who raise cattle and grow corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, rice, wheat and potatoes.
Democratic lawmakers criticized the administration ahead of the announcement.
“Mr. Trump wants credit for trying to right his mistakes,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) said on the X-Post.
“President Trump’s tariffs are hurting our nation’s farmers, increasing the cost of growing food and pushing them into bankruptcy,” he wrote. “Farmers need a market to sell to, not a consolation prize for the farmers he destroyed.”
“President Trump’s plan to bail out farmers won’t even level the playing field for the farming community,” Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement. “They still pay more for fertilizer, equipment and seeds, but U.S. agricultural products face more obstacles in foreign markets than ever before.”
The administration is framing the money as a “bridge payment” to help farmers weather the period between when the U.S. abandons former President Joe Biden’s economic policies and when President Trump’s current policies begin.
But some in the U.S. agriculture industry say they are suffering as a result of broader trade wars, particularly with China, the U.S.’s main customer.
China has stopped buying U.S. soybeans for months, especially during the critical harvest season that begins in the fall.
Beijing resumed purchasing some soybeans in late October as President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping moved closer to an interim trade truce. However, China’s agricultural imports do not appear to have recovered to current levels, and the Chinese government’s stockpiles have swelled to their highest levels in recent memory.
Bessent asserted that China is on track to meet its planned purchase of 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of February. The administration previously announced that China’s soybean production reached 12 million tons in the last two months of this year and that it would buy at least 25 million tons over the next three years.
China will purchase approximately 27 million tons of U.S. soybeans in 2024.
“Farmers have suffered for years under President Joe Biden’s administration, which has increased the U.S. trade deficit to more than $1.2 trillion, raised input costs, and promoted woke DEI agricultural policies,” White House press secretary Anna Kelly told CNBC in a statement ahead of Monday’s aid announcement.
“In contrast, President Trump is supporting our agricultural industry by negotiating new trade deals that open new export markets for our farmers and strengthening our agricultural safety net for the first time in a decade,” Kelly said.
“Today’s announcement reflects the president’s commitment to helping farmers get the support they need to close the gap between Biden’s failures and the president’s successful implementation of policies.”
This is developing news. Please check back for the latest information.
