The Department of Agriculture announced Monday that it will distribute nearly $6 billion to U.S. farmers as a bailout to offset the losses the industry has incurred as a result of President Trump’s trade negotiations.
The largest portion of the funding set to be issued on Sept. 4 will go to soybean farmers, who will receive just over $3.6 billion, according to the USDA. Other recipients of the money from the agency’s Market Facilitation Program include cotton, corn, wheat and dairy farmers.
The agency will also purchase up to $1.2 billion in commodities that have been targeted by retaliatory tariffs put in place by trading allies like the European Union and Mexico after Trump issued levies on steel and aluminum imports. China has also issued retaliatory tariffs in response to the administration’s decision to also impose levies on $50 billion in goods from the country.
“After careful analysis by our team at USDA, we have formulated our strategy to mitigate the trade damages sustained by our farmers. Our farmers work hard, and are the most productive in the world, and we aim to protect them,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement.
The USDA intends to authorize up to $12 billion in funding to mitigate concerns in the agriculture industry over new tariffs and provide Trump time to negotiate new trade deals with China and other countries, Perdue said.
[Previous coverage: White House preparing $12 billion in aid to farmers caught in Trump’s trade war]
