Trump Admin Still Planning Billions in Farmer Trade Aid

By Ryan Hanrahan

Politico’s Grace Yarrow and Meredith Lee Hill reported late last week that “the Trump administration plans to roll out an initial payment of up to $12 billion for farmers hurt by the president’s tariff policies once the government shutdown ends, according to three people familiar with the matter. The finalized amount will come on top of President Donald Trump’s recently announced truce with China, which could also give some relief to U.S. producers of soybeans, sorghum and meat.”

“Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told reporters Thursday that a Market Facilitation Program — similar to the $28 billion farmer bailout Trump issued during his first-term trade wars — is ‘all teed up and good to go,'” Yarrow and Lee Hill reported. “‘That’s being held up by the shutdown,’ Hoeven added.”

“Farmers have been grappling with tariff uncertainty, high costs for things like fertilizer and machinery, rising inflation, and other economic headwinds as they start to make decisions for next year’s planting season,” Yarrow and Lee Hill reported. “That’s added pressure on lawmakers and administration officials who’ve been working for months to ready some sort of bailout and open new trade markets.”

AgWeb’s Michelle Rook reported that USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden recently confirmed the aid won’t come until after the government shutdown ends. “‘Until the government re-opens, we don’t have appropriations, and there’s no money to be had, whether you’re talking about recipients of our SNAP program or you’re talking about farmers who may need additional assistance for a bridge to get to next year,'” Vaden told Chip Flory on “AgriTalk,” according to Rook’s reporting.