Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmers

Trump holds roundtable to announce agricultural bailout

(Image credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images)

What happened

President Donald Trump Monday announced $12 billion in aid for farmers struggling with higher fertilizer and equipment costs and the loss of export markets — China, especially — tied to his trade war. He unveiled the bailout at a White House roundtable with farmers. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said $11 billion would be paid to producers of major row crops like corn, soybeans and wheat, with the other $1 billion set aside for fruit and other specialty crops.

Who said what

“Not surprisingly,” Trump tried to portray the $12 billion farmer bailout as “a victory, another piece of evidence — at least to him — that his decision to impose the highest tariffs on American imports since 1930 are working, or will soon,” David Sanger said at The New York Times. But it was the latest of several recent moves to “contain the economic and political damage” of his trade war and “stem the bleeding for a core constituency.”

Trump “repeatedly said during the roundtable that the bailout was funded by tariffs,” but the $12 billion will be drawn from a “USDA fund using taxpayer dollars,” Politico said. His guests “thanked him for the help,” The Associated Press said, but farmers maintain they would prefer to “make a profit off selling their crops — not rely on government aid to survive.”

What next?

Rollins said farms will start receiving up to $155,000 in “bridge” payments by the end of February. Trump, who “has been dismissive of the affordability issue,” said the AP, will travel to Pennsylvania today to defend his “economic stewardship and answer voter angst about rising costs.”

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.