$16 billion aid package for farmers announced

WASHINGTON» President Donald Trump, flanked by more than a dozen U.S. farmers at the White House, on Thursday announced a new $16 billion farm aid package to offset losses from the U.S. trade war with China.

Trump told the farmers in attendance, including an Idaho potato farmer wearing a red “Make Potatoes Great Again” cap, that he was “honored to have done this for you.”

“This support for farmers will be paid for by the billions of dollars the Treasury takes in” from China, Trump said. He said it will keep America’s “cherished” farms thriving.

Despite Trump’s assertion, China does not pay tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese imports. Importers pay those tariffs, and some of them pass the cost on to U.S. consumers.

In a conference call with reporters before the event, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said $14.5 billion of the $16 billion would be paid out directly to producers, who have been hit hard by Trump’s tariff showdowns with China, Mexico and other countries.

“This package ensures farmers will not bear the brunt” of the trade wars, Perdue said.

Perdue acknowledged that U.S. farmers have been hit hard by the escalating trade fight with Beijing — but he said Trump was working hard to shield them from the worst effects. He said he remained optimistic about reaching a comprehensive trade agreement with China.

“All of us are hopeful of a renewed or signing of fair trade deal,” Perdue said. “I can’t recall a president more concerned about farmer well-being. We are working hard to assess trade damages, and this package ensures farmers will not bear the brunt.”

After Trump slapped tariffs of 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese imports, Beijing retaliated with import taxes on U.S. agricultural commodities such as soybeans.

But even before the trade war began, farmers around the country had been struggling with falling farm income and commodity prices, rising debt and the vagaries of weather, including historic floods through the Midwest and now rain that has delayed spring planting around the country.

A new data analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation showed that Chapter 12 bankruptcies — which allow family farmers and fishermen to restructure their finances to avoid foreclosure — rose from March 2017 to March 2018, particularly in areas such as the Upper Midwest, where farmers have been particularly hard-hit.

Nancy Johnson, the executive director of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association, said that the aid would be welcome by her increasingly stressed-out and frustrated members, who have seen the price of soybeans per bushel drop to around $7.25 — under the level where farmers can break even — down from $14 per bushel in 2012.

“We didn’t expect this to take a year; that’s where the frustration comes in,” said Wayne Fredericks, 68, who farms corn and soybeans in Osage, Iowa. “I’m not going to turn it down; I can’t afford to. Right now we’re looking at just breaking even.”

Randy Spronk, a hog farmer and past president of the National Pork Producers Council, who attended the president’s meeting with farmers, said farmers realized the potential payouts will not make up for the losses from a protracted trade war with China.