President Donald Trump on Monday announced a $12 billion aid package for American farmers, who have been hit hard by his administration’s tariffs
Trump said at a roundtable meeting with administration officials and farmers that the aid would help farmers lower food prices and fight inflation, blaming Democrats for those problems. Still, the aid is an acknowledgement that Trump’s trade battles are hurting U.S. farmers.
The administration is expected to draw from the Department of Agriculture’s emergency fund to pay out the aid, with farmers expected to receive payments by Feb. 28. Trump said the money would be pulled from tariff revenue.
The administration will allocate $11 billion at first, with the final $1 billion reserved for specialty crops, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said during the meeting.
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Trump said American farmers had been mistreated by purchasers offering low prices, and that tariffs were protecting them. The agricultural industry is largely dependent on exporting its goods and importing key items such as fertilizer and steel.
Soybeans are America’s largest agricultural export, with half of them going to China. Tariffs on Chinese goods encouraged the Chinese to buy soybeans from other countries or to produce them domestically, cutting into domestic soybean sales and weakening the competitiveness of American farmers.
Other nations, including Brazil, were ready to fill the soybean gap left by the U.S, with many American farmers waiting on trade deals to get back on even terms with competing countries.
He also said he was also planning to remove environmental regulations required for companies producing tractors and other farm machinery, which he blamed for their high prices.
“We will make America affordable again and bring down grocery prices for American families, and again, these are prices that we inherited when I left,” Trump said.
The president is launching a tour in Pennsylvania on Tuesday to tout his economic agenda, as Democrats continue to turn to affordability as a central criticism of his administration.
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