Trump administration officials are assuring farm-state Republicans they will funnel billions of taxpayer dollars to farmers who are hit by President Donald Trump’s intensifying trade war.
But it may be some time before any money is released. The administration wants to take stock of the economic fallout of the tariffs in the agriculture sector before rolling out aid, officials have told Republicans on Capitol Hill, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. That will likely take several more months.
The topic came up again Thursday when Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins lunched with Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Agriculture Department, at the White House complex Thursday, according to two other Republicans familiar with the matter. The discussion focused largely on reconciliation, as Republicans continue to explore whether they can add some farm bill program funding into the massive bill, along with cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food assistance for low-income Americans, according to the people.
But Rollins mentioned during the conversation she was exploring how to again tap an internal USDA fund known as the Commodity Credit Corp. to send out billions in possible farm economic aid, if needed. Hoeven confirmed later Thursday he spoke with Rollins about the CCC as an avenue for any farm economic aid, among other topics.
Foreign export markets are a major source of revenue for U.S. farmers, particularly those who grow row crops like soybeans — key constituents to farm-state lawmakers. Many of them are still reeling from 2018, the last time Trump launched a trade war with foreign countries that led to steep retaliatory tariffs on the American agriculture sector. GOP lawmakers in farm and automobile-heavy states were already scrambling to shield those industries in the lead up to Trump’s dramatic tariff announcement Wednesday, which could see duties rise to levels not seen in nearly a century.
The discussions are an acknowledgment that Republicans inside the administration know Trump’s tariffs could hit the American agriculture sector hard enough to warrant another bailout worth billions — similar to the $28 billion the federal government doled out in 2018. But given the immense scope of Trump’s tariffs, the package this time will likely need to be much bigger, according to GOP lawmakers.
It’s not clear if the administration has that kind of money readily available. The Agriculture Department’s CCC fund is currently running low, and lawmakers will need to approve tens of billions of dollars in additional aid if the Trump administration wants to tap it during the trade war.
Source: Politico / Meredith Lee Hill
