White House Plans More Multibillion-Dollar Bailouts for Farmers Struggling Due to Trump’s Trade War

The White House is expected to announce next week additional payments to American farmers who have been suffering as a result of President Trump’s trade war. Many in the agriculture sector have been hurting now that customers in China have largely stopped buying soybeans. Mr. Trump himself has mused about using some tariff revenues in order to send checks to farmers here in the United States, though a broad strategy about mitigating farmers’ economic pain has not yet materialized. That could change next week, however. Soybean farmers in the Midwest are especially hurting, now that China has stopped buying the legumes from America producers amid the president’s trade war. “It’s unfortunate that Chinese leadership has decided to use American soybean farmers as a hostage or pawn in the trade negotiations,” Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday. “You should expect some news on Tuesday on substantial support for our farmers, especially the soybean farmers.”“They have had President Trump’s back and we have their back,” Mr. Bessent added. Some Republicans in Congress have expressed deep concern about the closing of China’s markets even though Mr. Trump is attempting to use his tariffs to try to win more favorable trade deals with the world’s second-largest economy. Since his “Liberation Day” tariff regime was announced, little progress has been made with respect to zeroing out America’s trade deficit with China. “Tariffs not only cause farmers to pay more for their inputs, but they have also seen tariffs reduce markets for U.S. farm products,” Senator Chuck Grassley, who himself is a farmer, said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “It happens that China has not bought a single one of Americans’ soybeans this year, and that’s why farmers are losing $2 per bushel on soybeans.”He says that “taking away tariffs on … inputs and striking meaningful deals to open markets would send immediate signals” to farmers that the government is looking out for them. A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House could soon announce anywhere from $10 billion to $14 billion in direct economic aid for American farmers. The Department of Agriculture says it has already spent $8 billion to send checks to eligible farmers who are suffering from “increased input costs and falling commodity prices.”The debates within the administration have seemingly gotten tense about how to deal with the fallout from Mr. Trump’s trade war. A photo recently captured by the Associated Press of Mr. Bessent’s phone disclosed the strife within the administration about these bailout policies. The photo of Mr. Bessent’s cellphone — which was taken while he was attending the United Nations General Assembly — shows a group chat that included the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, who expressed concern about a bailout for Argentina while American farmers are hurting. “I am getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate. We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, the [Argentines] removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price to China at a time when we would normally be selling to China,” Ms. Rollins wrote to Mr. Bessent. “Soy prices are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us,” the agriculture secretary added. Mr. Grassley, too, has expressed confusion at why the Department of the Treasury would help secure Argentina’s economic viability while leaving farmers out in the cold. “Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market???” Mr. Grassley wrote on X. “We [should] use leverage at every turn to help hurting farm economy.”“Family farmers [should] be top of mind in negotiations by representatives of USA,” he continued. Mr. Bessent, however, says the bailout for Argentina is necessary in order to foster good relations with South American countries that have long had left-wing governments. “America first doesn’t mean America alone,” Mr. Bessent told CNBC on Thursday. “Argentina is a beacon down there, and there’s a chance now for many other countries to come along. … So, what you don’t want are these failed economic models.”“President Meilei is working against history and he’s done a fantastic job,” the Treasury secretary said.

White House Plans More Multibillion-Dollar Bailouts for Farmers Struggling Due to Trump’s Trade War

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