President Trump on Monday announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers struggling with the fallout of his trade war with China and other major purchasers of U.S. agricultural goods.
Trump has raised tariffs on trade partners around the world in an effort to spur domestic production, prompting some countries to increase their own tariffs, making U.S. exports less competitive. China took its retaliation one step further by ceasing to purchase some agricultural exports entirely, including soybeans — a serious blow to U.S. farmers, who sell about half of their soybean crop to the Asian manufacturing giant.
Amid signs that Trump’s trade war is cooling, the administration announced last month that China has agreed to resume it purchases of soybeans, but there are still questions about whether the country will fulfill its pledge to buy 12 million tons by the end of the year.
At a White House event, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said applications for aid will open in the next few weeks, and farmers will start receiving checks by February 28. About $1 billion from the $12 billion fund will be held back to provide aid for farmers whose applications are still under review.
Speaking to reporters in the White House Cabinet Room, Trump claimed that the aid package would be funded by revenue from his tariffs. “This money would not be possible without tariffs, the tariffs are taking in, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars, and we're giving some up to the farmers because they were mistreated by other countries,” he said.
However, Bloomberg reports that an administration official said the funds will be authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, the same Depression-era law Trump relied on to provide a $28 billion bailout of farmers during his first administration.
Trump also blamed the Biden administration for the problems that farmers are experiencing. Farmers were “crushed by the worst inflation in modern history and crippling restrictions on energy, water and countless other necessities for farmers,” he said.
In addition to providing direct financial relief, Trump promised to eliminate environmental rules that are making farm equipment more expensive. “A lot of the reason [equipment is so expensive] is because they put these environmental excesses on the equipment which don't do a damn thing except make it complicated, make it impractical, and you really have to be, in many cases you need about an 185 IQ to turn on a lawn mower. So we're going to take that off, that crap off that they put on, Biden mostly.”
Some critics have argued that Trump has a simpler way to help farmers at his disposal. “While we need to help farmers who have been hurt by the President’s across-the-board tariffs, ultimately farmers want trade — not aid,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the senior Democrat on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. “The easiest way to give our farmers more certainty would be for the President to end his tariff taxes. This assistance will clearly benefit some farmers now, but a one-time payment is not a long-term fix — only restoring these markets can do that.”