President Trump announced plans last week to use tariff revenue as a financial cushion for struggling American farmers as China shuns U.S. agricultural goods. Beijing’s pivot to Brazilian ag suppliers has left Midwest farmers in the nation’s top ag belts fearing a spiral into financial hardship.
At the White House on Thursday, President Trump told reporters, “We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we’ve made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are – for a little while – going to be hurt until it kicks in, the tariffs kick in to their benefit.”
Trump later told reporters that he has not decided on a final version of the plan and would consult with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on the matter.
China’s abrupt pivot to Brazil, after decades of purchasing more than half of the U.S.’s soybeans annually, highlights elevated trade tensions this year as both superpowers attempt to find common ground on a new deal.
Financial Times noted, “For decades, more than half of all U.S. soybeans went to China, the world’s biggest buyer. But this year, as trade talks between Washington and Beijing stall, not a single American soybean has headed east, leaving farmers struggling to stay afloat as bins fill and prices sag while China turns to record supplies from Brazil.”
Hellbound and Down 