The Trump administration on Tuesday announced $12 billion in programs to aid farmers who lose money because of retaliatory tariffs imposed in ongoing trade dispute with China and Europe.
The federal bailout includes paying farmers for lost goods, buying excess produce and help finding new foreign markets.
The programs, which the administration first announced in July, are targeted for corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean and wheat producers that have been hit with retaliatory tariffs.
“These programs will allow President Trump time to strike long-term trade deals to benefit our entire economy, including the agricultural sector, in the long run,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “Farmers will tell you that they would always prefer to sell a good crop at a fair price, rather than receive government aid, and that’s what long-term trade deals will accomplish.”
He said that in the meantime, President Trump would not let American agriculture “bear the brunt of the unjustified retaliation from foreign nations.”
Mr. Trump has been using tariffs and the threat of tariffs to force trade talks with China, the European Union, Mexico, Canada and other trading partners.
China and the E.U. retaliated with tariffs targeting agriculture and other U.S. staples.
The U.S. and E.U. are working on a zero-tariff deal.
Talks with China have gone nowhere.
Mr. Trump is considering hitting China this week with tariffs on $200 billion in goods. He previously slapped tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports in July and another $16 billion last month.
Beijing retaliated with tariffs on $50 billion of U.S. goods, including beef, cotton, wheat, sorghum and rice.
The administration’s new programs to help farmers include:
- USDA’s Farm Service Agency will administer the Market Facilitation Program to provide payments to corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean and wheat producers.
- USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will administer a food purchase and distribution program to purchase up to $1.2 billion in commodities targeted by retaliatory tariffs. The agency’s Food and Nutrition Service then will distribute these commodities through nutrition assistance programs, such as The Emergency Food Assistance Program and child nutrition programs.
- The Foreign Agricultural Service’s Agricultural Trade Promotion Program will spend up to $200 million to develop foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products, helping identify and access new markets.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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