The administration plans $12 billion aid package to Framers

President Donald Trump declared tariffs “the greatest” over Twitter Tuesday morning, even as his administration prepares to shore up the agricultural industry, which is weathering financial turmoil induced by his trade policies.

The administration reportedly plans to give farmers $12 billion in emergency aid to cope with the fallout from the tariff regime, Politico first reported Tuesday. Farmers have been among those hit hardest under Trump’s protectionist trade agenda, as foreign countries levy tens of billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs largely on the American agricultural industry. China, Mexico, and Canada have responded to the Trump administration’s taxes on imported steel, aluminum, and electronics with taxes on American soybeans, dairy, pork, apples, and potatoes, as well as other US products.

The impact of tariffs on US agriculture is no joke. Prices for agricultural products like soybeans have dropped to a 10-year low since Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on trade and aluminum earlier this year. And farmers across different markets have grown increasingly nervous about how their businesses will fare if the trade war continues.

The administration’s plan, which has yet to be formally released, would reportedly be aimed at stabilizing the agricultural industry through three programs:

1. Direct financial assistance for farmers.
2. A purchase and distribution program, where the government buys up surplus agricultural products and redistributes them for low-income food assistance.
3. A trade promotion program.

The Washington Post reported that this stabilization package will use a Depression-era program that allows the government to borrow up to $30 billion from the Treasury without congressional approval.

Some kind of fix for farmers has been in the works for quite some time. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX), who chairs the House Agricultural Committee, told Vox last week that he was confident the administration would act to help farmers “persevere” through this period.

“The president has great agriculture advisers around him, and his public comments indicate that he understands this is troubling to the folks in the production of agriculture in Middle America,” Conaway said. “[Agriculture Secretary] Sonny Perdue has some tools that he’s working on to mitigate in some small way the impact the tariffs are having.”

Meanwhile, Trump appears steadfast in his tariff agenda. He has already threatened to tax foreign car imports ahead of trade talks with the European Union this week, and has been tweeting a very rosy picture of the tariffs’ impact on the American economy.

“I am fighting for a level playing field for our farmers, and will win!” he tweeted earlier this month.