Trump Considering at least $10 Billion for Farmer Aid; Announcement Next Week

by Ryan Hanrahan

The Wall Street Journal’s Brian Schwartz, Patrick Thomas and Natalie Andrews reported that “President Trump is considering providing $10 billion or more in aid to U.S. farmers as the agriculture sector warns of economic fallout from his far-reaching tariffs, according to people familiar with the discussions.”

“The president and his team are weighing using tariff revenue to fund much of the aid, the people said, adding that distribution of the money could start in the coming months,” Schwartz, Thomas, and Andrews reported. “A senior administration official said the discussions have centered on $10 billion to $14 billion in aid. The aid likely would go toward helping soybean producers, as well as other parts of the farm economy. The official stressed that the deliberations were ongoing and that nothing had been definitively settled.”

“‘President Trump and Secretary Rollins are always in touch about the needs of our farmers, who played a crucial role in the President’s November victory,’ said Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, referring to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins,” Schwartz, Thomas, and Andrews reported. “‘He has made clear his intention to use tariff revenue to help our agricultural sector, but no final decisions on the contours of this plan have been made,’ she added.”

“When Trump placed tariffs on China during his first term, Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans plummeted, devastating farmers’ balance sheets,” Schwartz, Thomas, and Andrews reported. “The U.S. Agriculture Department has estimated that soybean growers accounted for more than 70% of the financial losses incurred by farmers during Trump’s first trade war.”

“The government sent about $23 billion to farmers to compensate,” Schwartz, Thomas, and Andrews reported. “While soybean exports recovered in the following years, China has been squeezing American farmers out and has spent heavily to improve the agriculture supply chain in South American countries such as Brazil to fill the gap.”

Treasury’s Bessent Says Aid Announcement Coming Early Next Week

Agri-Pulse’s Oliver Ward reported that “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday U.S. farmers could see an announcement on a ‘substantial support’ package as soon as Tuesday to deal with the fallout from the trade tensions with China.”

“‘It’s unfortunate that Chinese leadership has decided to use American soybean farmers as a hostage or pawn in the trade negotiations,’ Bessent told CNBC. ‘You should expect news on Tuesday on substantial support for our farmers,’” Ward reported. “Soybean farmers have been warning of a dire financial situation in farm country if China continues its freeze on U.S. purchases. Chinese buyers have not yet placed any orders for the new U.S. crop, and Chinese officials have suggested they won’t until the U.S. removes some tariffs.”

“Bessent also demonstrated his understanding of some of the knock-on impacts of China’s retreat from U.S. ag,” Ward reported. “‘This is a record harvest,’ Bessent pointed out. ‘The harvest is so big that we may run out of storage. So that’s also affecting prices.’ In addition to providing tariff support, Bessent said the administration would work to ‘make sure that the farmers have what they need for next planting season.’”

“Bessent also previewed a ‘big breakthrough’ in U.S.-China trade talks once Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Korea at the end of the month,” Ward reported.

Trump Says He Will Discuss Soybeans With Chinese President

Reuters’ Tom Polansek and Trevor Hunnicutt reported that “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that soybeans would be a major topic of discussion when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in four weeks. ‘The Soybean Farmers of our Country are being hurt because China is, for ‘negotiating’ reasons only, not buying,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.”

“Last month, Trump said he and Xi agreed during a call to meet face-to-face in South Korea to discuss a trade conflict that has kept the countries bitterly at odds,” Polansek and Hunnicutt reported. “The two leaders are set to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum during the last week of October in Gyeongju, South Korea.”

Trump Considering at least $10 Billion for Farmer Aid, Announcement Next Week was originally published by Farmdoc.