Corn and soybean farmer Don Swanson prepares to harvest his corn crop as he and other Iowa farmers struggle with the effects of weather and ongoing tariffs resulting from the trade war between the U.S. and China that continue to affect agricultural business, in Eldon, Iowa, on Oct. 4, 2019.
Kia Johnson | Reuters
President Donald Trump is set to announce on Monday that his administration is doling out a $12 billion aid package to farmers who have been squeezed by a trade war between the U.S. and its top economic partners.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will join Trump at a roundtable event unveiling the economic assistance, a White House official told CNBC.
Most of that money — up to $11 billion — will go to the U.S. Agriculture Department’s new Farmer Bridge Assistance program, which will provide one-time payments to row crop farmers, the official said.
The remaining $1 billion will be reserved as the USDA evaluates changing market conditions, according to the official.
Trump is set to hold a roundtable event at the White House at 2 p.m. ET. The president will also be joined by members of Congress and farmers who raise cattle and grow corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, rice, wheat and potatoes, the White House official said.
Democratic lawmakers slammed the administration ahead of the announcement.
“Trump wants credit for trying to fix a mess of his making,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in an X post.
“Trump’s tariffs are hammering our farmers, making it more expensive to grow food and pushing farmers into bankruptcy,” he wrote. “Farmers need markets to sell to—not a consolation prize for the ones he wrecked.”
“Trump’s plan to bail out farmers won’t even get agriculture communities back to even,” Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the Senate Finance Committee’s top-ranking Democrat, said in a statement. “They’re still paying more for fertilizer, equipment and seeds, while grown-in-the-USA farm goods are facing more obstacles than ever in foreign markets.”
The administration is framing the money as “bridge payments” that will help farmers weather the period between the U.S. abandoning former President Joe Biden’s economic policies and Trump’s current agenda kicking in.
But some in America’s agriculture industry say they are suffering as a result of the wide-ranging trade war — especially due to conflicts with China, a major U.S. customer.
China stopped buying U.S. soybeans for several months, most notably during the key harvest season beginning in the fall.
Beijing resumed buying some soybeans in late October as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping neared a tentative trade truce. But China’s imports of the crop do not appear to be rebounding to their current levels, and Beijing’s stockpiles have swelled to recent highs.
Bessent has maintained that China is on track to meet its projected purchase of 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of February. The administration has previously said that Beijing would hit the 12-million-ton mark during the last two months of the year, and that it would buy at least 25 million tons of soybeans in each of the next three years.
China bought nearly 27 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in 2024.
“Farmers suffered for years under Joe Biden, who increased the United States’ trade deficit to over $1.2 trillion, raised input costs, pushed woke DEI agricultural policies, and more,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told CNBC in a statement ahead of Monday’s aid announcement.
“In contrast, President Trump is helping our agriculture industry by negotiating new trade deals to open new export markets for our farmers and boosting the farm safety net for the first time in a decade,” Kelly said.
“Today’s announcement reflects the President’s commitment to helping our farmers, who will have the support they need to bridge the gap between Biden’s failures and the President’s successful policies taking effect.”
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.