US President Donald Trump announced a $19 billion relief package for farmers affected by his tariff policies. Photo / Carolyn Van Houten, The Washington Post
President Donald Trump today announced an US$11 billion ($19b) relief assistance package for United States farmers to ease the burden from his tariff policies, attempting to blunt the pain for a key constituency as he pushes to remake global markets.
The President’s trade war has exacerbated the financial crunch of falling crop prices – and crushed soybean exports, as China retaliated earlier this year against US tariffs by halting all American soy purchases.
It was a painful blow to the industry from its largest international customer, which makes up about half of all US soybean exports.
The Trump Administration has implemented widespread tariffs touching goods from nearly every country, pushing up prices for consumers as businesses begin shifting the burden of rising costs.
Trump has been under pressure from lawmakers to approve an aid package for farmers, who have struggled under sinking crop prices and increasing costs for equipment, fertiliser and other production expenses – which have been made worse by global trade tensions.
Farmers are a reliable base of support for Trump: US counties that most heavily rely on farming supported Trump by more than 77%, on average, in the 2024 election, according to data compiled by Investigate Midwest.
Most of the aid will go to the Agriculture Department’s new Farmer Bridge Assistance programme, created to support American crop farmers, a White House official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the plans before they were made public.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that officials are “working to best understand” how to help farmers with specialty crops as well, noting that the Administration is holding back US$1b from an originally anticipated US$12b package.
The funding will come from tariff revenue, Trump said during a roundtable event to announce the aid package, adding that the farm aid “would not be possible” without the tariffs.
He blamed the financial burdens for farmers on President Joe Biden and touted Chinese imports of US soybeans resuming.
“Maximising domestic farm production is a big part of how we will make America affordable again and bring down grocery prices for American families,” he said.
Trump released US$16b in aid to farmers during his first term amid Chinese retaliation for a less-sweeping round of tariffs.
The President said the Administration plans to help bring down the cost of farm equipment by removing “environmental restrictions” that he argued have raised the cost of production.
Republicans in Congress praised the President’s announcement. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (South Dakota) called it a “strong step forward” in a statement on X.
Farmers nationwide have been grappling with low crop prices and challenging tariffs that have pushed many into bankruptcy.
As the Washington Post reported in October, about 181 farmers filed for bankruptcy protection in the first half of the year, a 60% increase from the previous year and the highest six-month reading since 2020, according to US court records.
The American Soybean Association said in a statement that soybean farmers nationwide have “faced a perfect storm of low crop prices, high production costs, and loss of markets” and that the White House’s aid programme will help farmers deal with carried debt from the 2025 season.
“While we await additional details, we believe the Farmer Bridge Assistance Programme is a positive first step to restore certainty as soybean farmers market this year’s crop and plan for the 2026 planting season,” said ASA President Caleb Ragland, a farmer from Kentucky.
An ASA member and Indiana soybean farmer, Tyler Everett, was part of the roundtable at the White House.
American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall said in a statement that the nation’s farmers “have been hit from every direction during this economic storm” and that the package “will make an immediate impact by providing a lifeline for farmers who work to ensure a healthy, safe and abundant food supply”.
Other farmers groups were encouraged by the Trump announcement but said more needed to be done to support the nation’s agricultural sector.
“Short-term payments, while important, are only a first step. What we truly need are long-term structural fixes that restore viability and stability to family farms and ranches for generations to come,” National Farmers Union president Rob Larew said in a statement.
“In real-time, we are experiencing the consequences of farm policy that is woefully outdated. The farm safety net can’t keep up with today’s economic realities.
“Input costs remain high, trade relationships are uncertain, access to affordable healthcare is in danger and the stress on rural communities continues to grow.”
Earlier this year, Trump’s tariffs on China prompted the country to halt purchases of US soybeans.
Then the President offered a US$20b bailout to Argentina, whose soybean crop sales to China have replaced those from US farmers.
Later, Trump said that the US would buy beef from Argentina to bring down prices for US consumers, opening a new rift between Trump and cattle ranchers.
Trump’s commitment to helping Argentina and its embattled President, Javier Milei – a political ally – appeared at odds with his “America First” policy platform, raising rare objections from some in his base, even as many say they still trust Trump to act in their best interest.
The new assistance package is particularly aimed at helping soybean farmers, who have seen a precipitous drop in sales this year, as the price of soybeans fell, leaving them with extra supply.
After trade talks with Chinese leaders in late October, the Trump Administration said China had promised to resume soybean purchases and would increase its 2026 soybean purchases.
China also reported a massive US$1 trillion trade surplus, indicating that the Administration’s efforts to rebalance global trade with the superpower have not shifted the world economy yet.
A Purdue University survey published on December 2 – which measures the health of the national agricultural economy – found that farmers feel more optimistic about the future after that late October trade pact between China and the US.
Producers in November were also more optimistic about their farms’ financial performance than a month earlier, according to the survey – partly because of a rise in crop prices from mid-October to mid-November.
While Republicans voiced their support for the President’s farm aid package, Democrats in Congress said the answer wasn’t to send more assistance to farmers – it was to roll back the tariffs.
“While we need to help farmers who have been hurt by the President’s across-the-board tariffs, ultimately farmers want trade – not aid,” Senator Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a statement.
“The easiest way to give our farmers more certainty would be for the President to end his tariff taxes. This assistance will clearly benefit some farmers now, but a one-time payment is not a long-term fix – only restoring these markets can do that.”
Representative Jonathan Jackson (D-Illinois), who sits on the House Agriculture Committee, said he understands why soybean growers are happy to get some relief.
Illinois is the top soybean producer in the US, and Jackson noted that many soybean growers voted for Trump, hoping that he would solve their economic challenges. But Jackson argued that the President is seeking to put a band-aid on a problem he caused.
Jackson estimated that farmers “are going to need hundreds of billions of dollars” to make it out of the current crisis.
“He had a scorched-earth policy that has been ill-conceived and now poorly executed, and this is only the start of the bailout process,” he said.
“Had [Trump] stayed out of imposing tariffs and out of making our products too expensive to be exported, we would be in a better position.”
Jackson also noted that lawmakers have not been briefed on details about the tariff money that is being used for this package – even though Congress appropriates federal funds.
“We’ve not voted on it. It didn’t come through the Agriculture Committee,” he said. “If you look at Article I in the Constitution for tariffs, that’s under the sole discretion of the United States Congress, so he’s just acting impetuously and creating chaos.”
- David J. Lynch and Matt Viser contributed to this report.
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