Topline: President Donald Trump announced a $16 billion aid package for farmers suffering from tariffs, the second farm bailout in less than a year. As the U.S.-China trade war continues, American farmers—who were a key demographic in electing Trump—are increasingly losing confidence in the administration as the agriculture industry bears the brunt of the tariffs.
• $14.5 billion of the $16 billion aid package will go directly into farmers’ pockets, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a conference call Thursday.
• $1.4 billion will go toward food for schools and food banks, according to The Washington Post.
• $100 million will be used for a program that helps develop new markets for U.S. exports outside of China, according to CNBC.

Key P.O.V: “Farmers themselves will tell you they’d rather have trade than aid,” Perdue said, according to the Wall Street Journal, but in the absence of a deal “they’ll need some support.”

Background: The aid comes after Trump increased tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods after trade talks with China fell apart earlier this month. China, in turn, responded with its own wave of tariffs.

This is the second aid package for farmers hit by the trade war. The Trump administration spent $12 billion in aid last year after the original tariffs were levied.

While other industries, particularly tech and automobile companies, are being hit hard by tariffs, American farmers who sell their crops in China have been disproportionately affected. Soybean exports, for example, have already dropped 80% since the first round of tariffs last year.

How is the government paying for this? Trump said in an announcement that tariff revenue collected by the government would be the source of the aid money. But since directly pouring tariff revenue into the aid package isn’t legal, the money will be drawn from the U.S. Treasury through an Agriculture Department program that has the authority to spend $30 billion on programs to help farmers without Congressional approval.

The aid might help, but … : A recent Fox Business survey found that more than a third of farmers said they were losing confidence in Trump’s ability to secure a trade deal. </s> The Trump administration rolled out a second aid package worth for American farmers on Thursday, worth $16 billion, to help mitigate the effects of a more-than year-long trade war between the U.S. and China.

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President Trump said that the aid -- a response to China’s latest retaliatory tariffs -- will include $14.5 billion in direct payments to farmers through the market facilitation program. There will be three payments installments, beginning in July. Additional payments will follow in November and January as needed.

Another $1.4 billion will be allocated to the Food Purchase and Distribution Program to purchase surplus commodities affected by the trade war. Those goods will then be distributed to schools, food banks and other groups, the White House said.

The remaining $100 million will go to developing new export markets for American producers through the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program.

"We will make sure the farmers get the relief they need, and very, very quickly," Trump said at a White House event on Thursday. "It's a good time to be a farmer."

A group of farmers came to the White House on Thursday to attend an event with the president, during which details of the second aid package were released.

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"We're giving them that level playing field that's so important," Trump said.

“Details on the new trade mitigation program will be forthcoming shortly, but we want to be clear that the program is being designed to avoid skewing planting decisions one way or another,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said earlier in the week. “Farmers should continue to make their planting and production decisions with the current market signals in mind, rather than some expectation of what a trade mitigation program might or might not look like, based on a media story.”

China is the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, importing more than $12.4 billion worth of the oil seed in 2017, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, but retaliatory tariffs by China resulted in U.S. soybean exports to China falling by more than 80 percent with Brazil and Argentina supplying China instead.

Last year, as a result of the tariffs, soybeans in storage totaled about 3.74 billion bushels, up 18 percent from the prior year, according to data from the USDA.

According to Bloomberg, the aid plan could include payments of about $2 per bushel to soybean growers, 63 cents per bushel to wheat growers and 4 cents per bushel to corn growers. The administration’s last aid plan included $1.65 per bushel for soybean growers, 14 cents per bushel for wheat and 1 cent per bushel for corn.

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In July, the Trump administration announced a $12 billion farm aid package -- including $4.7 billion in direct payments to farmers -- to help shield them from the effects of global trade spats with China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union. The bulk of the payments went to soybean farmers. </s> President Donald Trump says he is “honored” to give U.S. farmers hurt by the trade war with China another $16 billion in aid.

Flanked by potato growers, ranchers and dairymen in the White House, Trump said Thursday the aid “will help keep our cherished farms thriving and make clear that no country has a veto on America’s economic and national security.”

Trump added that trade has been “very unfair” to the farmers who he says support him politically.

This is the second multibillion-dollar bailout the Trump administration has provided to U.S. farmers who have seen Chinese markets for their products dry up because of tariffs China imposed on U.S. goods to retaliate for U.S. tariffs on Chinese products. The White House gave farmers $12 billion last year.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says farmers should see the first installment of the new $16 billion in aid in July or August. Perdue said he doubts if the United States and China can reach a trade deal by then.

Most of the money will go to farmers who grow and sell such crops as soybeans, corn, peanuts and wheat. Money will also be set aside to buy excess products from the farmers and send them to schools and food banks.

“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,” Perdue said.

While Trump said Thursday that many farmers told him he is “doing the right thing,” some trade experts call the bailout a political ploy and say farmers are more concerned about winning back the lost Chinese market. </s> WASHINGTON — President Trump is delivering another $16 billion in aid to farmers hurt by his trade policies, an effort to relieve economic pain among his supporters in rural America and another sign that the U.S.-China trade war likely won’t end anytime soon.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the first of three payments is likely to be made in July or August. He suggested it was unlikely a trade deal would be done by then, a sign that U.S. negotiators could be months away from settling a bitter trade dispute with China.

“The package we’re announcing today ensures that farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners,” Perdue said.

The latest bailout comes atop $11 billion in aid Trump provided to farmers last year.

Trump, seeking to reduce America’s trade deficit with the rest of the world and with China in particular, has imposed import taxes on foreign steel, aluminum, solar panels and dishwashers and on thousands of Chinese products.

U.S trading partners have lashed back with retaliatory tariffs of their own, focusing on U.S. agricultural products in a direct shot at the American heartland, where support for Trump runs high.

William Reinsch, a trade analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former U.S. trade official, called the administration’s aid package for farmers “a fairly overt political ploy.”

“It’s not economics,” Reinsch said. Trump wants to win the farm states again in the 2020 election, “and he’s got members of Congress beating up on him” to resolve the trade conflicts.

Financial markets buckled Thursday on heightened tensions between the U.S. and China. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 286 points, or 1 percent, to 25,490. It had been down 448 points earlier in the day.

U.S. crude plunged 6 percent on fears that the trade standoff could knock the global economy out of kilter and kill demand for energy.

Talks between the world’s two biggest economies broke off earlier this month with no resolution to a dispute over Beijing’s aggressive efforts to challenge American technological dominance. The U.S. charges that China is stealing technology, unfairly subsidizing its own companies and forcing U.S. companies to hand over trade secrets if they want access to the Chinese market.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss the standoff at a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in Osaka, Japan, next month. There are no current plans for talks to occur before then.

Briefing reporters on the farm aid package, Perdue said he doubted that “a trade deal could be consummated before” the first payments to farmers in July or August.

The second payment will be made around November and the third likely in early 2020, USDA officials said, unless a trade deal has been reached by then.

The direct payments will make up $14.5 billion of the $16 billion package and will be handed out on a county-by-county basis. The amounts will be determined by how much each county has suffered from the retaliatory duties imposed by China, as well as previous tariffs put in place by the European Union and Turkey.

The rest of the package includes $1.4 billion to purchase surplus food commodities from farmers and distribute them to U.S. schools and food banks, and $100 million to help develop new export markets overseas.

The payments will go to farmers producing roughly two dozen crops, including soybeans, corn, canola, peanuts, cotton and wheat. Dairy and hog farmers are also eligible.

U.S. soybean exports to China have been hit particularly hard, falling from $12.3 billion in 2017 to just $3.2 billion last year.

The aid offsets some of the losses. But farmers are worried about the future and whether they can win back lost sales in China, a market they’ve spent years breaking into.

“I don’t think any kind of bailout package, even if it was permanent, would substitute” for the lost markets, said Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council and a former U.S. trade official.

Trump has said that China is footing the bill for the farm bailout by paying the tariffs. But tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. importers, and studies have shown that American consumers and businesses usually end up absorbing the higher costs.

Perdue acknowledged that the tariffs, regardless of who pays them, are sent to the Treasury Department and not earmarked for the relief program. But he said that China is “indirectly” paying for the aid.

“The president feels that China is paying for this program through the tariffs,” Perdue said.

Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports and plans to hit another $300 billion worth, a move that would extend import taxes to just about everything China ships to the United States.

Among those bracing for higher costs if the new tariffs kick in is Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!, a Boca Raton, Florida, toy company that imports from China.

“The thought of the government taking my money and giving it to farmers as subsidies to support their loses doesn’t sit well,” Foreman said by email. “It’s not fair to take money from a Florida company to support an Iowa farmer! Farmers don’t want welfare. I’m sure they, like us, just want open free markets to trade in!” </s> The Trump Administration will announce a new $16 billion farm aid package to offset losses from the U.S. trade war with China, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue confirmed Thursday.

In an interview on Fox Business Network, Perdue said: “China is going to pay for this $16 billion through tariffs coming in” and that “the revenue we’re receiving is what the president has intended to fund the farmers who are being hurt by these retaliatory tariffs.”

It would be the second bailout for farmers connected to Trump’s tariff showdowns with China, Mexico and other countries. The Trump administration announced $12 billion in emergency measures last July.

Perdue acknowledged Thursday that U.S. farmers have been hit hard by the escalating trade fight with Beijing, and accused China of targeting the president in advance of his 2020 re-election bid.

“Farmers have been hurt disproportionately and China knows. They’ve gone right at President Trump’s base politically that makes farmers feel pain, and he’s not letting them bear the brunt of that,” Perdue said.

Perdue did not offer further details before an official announcement expected later Thursday.

President Trump was scheduled to meet farm groups at the White House at a 3:15 p.m. event Thursday. </s> The Trump administration on Thursday announced a $16 billion trade aid program for American farmers that includes a three-pronged aid package for American farmers who have been hurt by the U.S. trade war with China.

The centerpiece is cash payments totaling $14.5 billion to producers of a variety of crops as well as dairy and pork producers impacted by retaliatory tariffs. U.S. tariff revenue collected by the Treasury would be used to support the program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"The package we're announcing today ensures that farmers will not bear the brunt of those trade practices by China or any other nation," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Thursday on a press call.

In addition, the government plans bulk purchases of about $1.4 billion of fresh produce and other food products impacted by tariffs. Food would be used to help food banks, pantries and school meal programs.

The USDA also plans a $100 million trade promotion program for livestock producers and certain crops to help industry sectors develop new markets. A similar program was launched as part of the administration's 2018 trade relief program for agriculture.

"Frankly, all of this would have been moot if China had acted appropriately and fairly in many of the areas regarding intellectual property theft and non-tariff barriers that they have put up for many years," Perdue said.

According to USDA chief economist Rob Johansson, the department's $14.5 billion direct payment program to farmers is above the administration's $12 billion plan announced last year. He said the new farm relief program looks at trade damages from last year's tariffs but also goes back to previous actions by China and other trading partners with retaliatory levies against American agriculture.

"We are looking back a number of years to look at what China has purchased from us in the past, and we're bringing that into our baseline," Johansson told reporters.

Soybean farmers have been among the hardest hit in the China trade war in terms of dollar value. Before the trade war, China bought roughly half of the U.S. soybean exports. But the value of soybean exports to China fell 74% to $3.1 billion in 2018 from about $12.2 billion the previous year, according to the USDA. </s> • The US will impose a 25% tariff on $16 billion worth of Chinese goods starting August 23.
• The tariff will mostly apply to industrial equipment, like tractors and chemicals.
• The move is the latest escalation of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

The United States will impose a 25% tariff on another $16 billion worth of Chinese goods starting August 23, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced Tuesday.

The new set of measures are the second tranche of tariffs that President Donald Trump originally announced in March, following tariffs imposed on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports that went into effect in early July. It represents the latest salvo in the ever-expanding trade war between the US and China.

The 279 items that will be hit with tariffs at the end of August are mostly industrial goods such as tractors, plastic tubes, and measurement equipment like speedometers.

Trump has threatened to levy a 25% tariff on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to the US – a move that would blow open the disagreement between the countries. China responded by promising to hit $60 billion worth of US goods coming into the country with tariffs.

The Trump administration has maintained that the tariffs are necessary to force China into changing economic behavior it says harms the US. For instance, the major complaint is about the theft of US intellectual property by Chinese firms.

China, on the other hand, argues that the tariffs violate World Trade Organization rules and only harm both countries. Beijing is expected to hit $16 billion worth of US goods with equal tariffs in response to Tuesday’s move.

Economists warn that a prolonged trade war between China and the US could end up increasing prices for American consumers and hurting US businesses. But given the lack of talks and Trump’s unclear goals, the trade war doesn’t appear to be close to a resolution.

Here’s a timeline of the US-China trade war so far:
• March 1: President Donald Trump announces tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum, including metals from China.
• March 22: Trump announces plans to hit $50 billion worth of Chinese goods with a 25% tariff. China announces tariffs in retaliation to the steel and aluminum duties and promises a response to the latest US announcement.
• April 3: The US trade representative announces a list of Chinese goods subject to the tariffs. There is a mandatory 60-day comment period for industries to ask for exemptions from the tariffs.
• April 4: China rolls out a list of more than 100 US goods worth roughly $50 billion that are subject to retaliatory tariffs.
• May 19: After a meeting, the two countries announce the outline of a trade deal to avoid the tariffs.
• May 29: The White House announces the tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods will move forward, with the final list of goods released June 15. The move appears to wreck the nascent trade deal.
• June 15: Trump rolls out the final list of goods subject to new tariffs. Chinese imports worth $34 billion would be subject to the new 25% tariff as of July 6, with another $16 billion worth of imports subject to the tariff at a later date. China retaliates with an equivalent set of tariffs.
• June 18: Trump threatens a 10% tariff on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
• July 6: The first tranche of tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods takes effect; China responds in kind.
• July 10: The US releases an initial list of an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that could be subject to a 10% tariff.
• August 1: Washington more than doubles the value of its tariff threats against Beijing, announcing plans to increase the size of proposed duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%.
• August 3: China announces that the country will impose tariffs of various rates on another $60 billion worth of US goods if Trump moves forward with his latest threat.
• August 7: The US announces that the second tranche of tariffs, which will hit $16 billion worth of Chinese goods, will go into effect on August 23. </s> • The US will impose a 25% tariff on $16 billion worth of Chinese goods starting August 23.
• The tariff will mostly apply to industrial equipment, like tractors and chemicals.
• The move is the latest escalation of President Donald Trump's trade war with China.

The US will impose a 25% tariff on another $16 billion worth of Chinese goods starting August 23, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced Tuesday.

The new set of measures are the second tranche of tariffs that President Donald Trump originally announced in March, following tariffs imposed on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports that went into effect in early July. It represents the latest salvo in the ever-expanding trade war between the US and China.

The 279 items that will be hit with tariffs at the end of August are mostly industrial goods such as tractors, plastic tubes, and measurement equipment like speedometers.

Trump has threatened to levy a 25% tariff on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to the US — a move that would blow open the disagreement between the countries. China responded by promising to hit $60 billion worth of US goods coming into the country with tariffs.

The Trump administration has maintained that the tariffs are necessary to force China into changing economic behavior it says harms the US. For instance, the major complaint is about the theft of US intellectual property by Chinese firms.

China, on the other hand, argues that the tariffs violate World Trade Organization rules and only harm both countries. Beijing is expected to hit $16 billion worth of US goods with equal tariffs in response to Tuesday's move.

Economists warn that a prolonged trade war between China and the US could end up increasing prices for American consumers and hurting US businesses. But given the lack of talks and Trump's unclear goals, the trade war doesn't appear to be close to a resolution.

Here's a timeline of the US-China trade war so far:
• March 1: President Donald Trump announcestariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum, including metals from China.
• March 22: Trump announces plans to hit$50 billion worth of Chinese goods with a 25% tariff.China announces tariffsin retaliation to the steel and aluminum duties and promises a response to the latest US announcement.
• April 3: The US trade representativeannounces a list of Chinese goodssubject to the tariffs. There is a mandatory 60-day comment period for industries to ask for exemptions from the tariffs.
• April 4: China rolls out a listof more than 100 US goods worth roughly $50 billion that are subject to retaliatory tariffs.
• May 19: After a meeting, the two countriesannounce the outline of a trade dealto avoid the tariffs.
• May 29: The White House announces the tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goodswill move forward, with the final list of goods released June 15. The move appears to wreck the nascent trade deal.
• June 15: Trump rolls out thefinal list of goods subject to new tariffs. Chinese imports worth $34 billion would be subject to the new 25% tariff as of July 6, with another $16 billion worth of imports subject to the tariff at a later date.China retaliateswith an equivalent set of tariffs.
• June 18: Trumpthreatens a 10% tariff on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
• July 6:The first tranche oftariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goodstakes effect; China responds in kind.
• July 10: TheUS releases an initial listof an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that could be subject to a 10% tariff.
• August 1: Washington more than doubles the value of its tariff threats against Beijing, announcing plans to increase the size of proposed duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%.
• August 3: China announces that the country will impose tariffs of various rates on another $60 billion worth of US goods if Trump moves forward with his latest threat.
• August 7: The US announces that the second tranche of tariffs, which will hit $16 billion worth of Chinese goods, will go into effect on August 23. </s> President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled a new $16 billion aid package to help farmers caught in the crossfire his trade war with China.

"The farmers have been attacked by China," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We're going to help out our farmers and we're giving them that level playing field that is so important."

Trump again claimed that China is paying the 25 percent tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in imports, which economists agree are paid by businesses and consumers.

"Some of that money will go to the farmers to help them out during a period where trade has been very unfair to them," Trump said.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the bulk of the funds will go to direct payments to crop and livestock producers, while a small portion will be used to purchase food to use in US aid programs like food banks and school lunch programs.

"The plan we are announcing today ensures farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners," Perdue told reporters in a conference call.

"Farmers would rather have trade than aid but without the trade they are going to need some support."

Trump's aggressive tariff strategy, especially against China, has drawn stiff retaliation from Beijing and others designed to hit the United States where it hurts: farm country.

Soybeans and pork have been primary targets, but many other crops have suffered directly or indirectly. Soybean exports to China fell 75 percent in 2018, according to Commerce Department figures.

The Trump administration ramped up the aid from the $12 billion provided last year but officials said they increased and redesigned the program this year to make it easier to understand.

There were high hopes early this month that a resolution with China was within striking distance but that optimism largely evaporated when Trump said Beijing had backed away from commitments considered already settled.

- Not playing by the rules -

He more than doubled existing punitive tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, and threatened to hit all the goods that had been spared so far.

"China hasn't played by the rules for a long time and President Trump is standing up to them, sending the clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate their unfair trade practices," Perdue said.

The US Department of Agriculture will calculate damage done by the retaliation, and officials said the first of three payments is expected to go out in July or August.

The officials did not indicate the expected size of the payments, but Perdue said the aid will be "heavily skewed" towards the first payment, while the others will depend on the market and the status of the trade talks.

But reaching an agreement now "depends on China."

USDA officials said the amount each farmer receives will be based on the damage calculated to each US county, with equal payments made to all farmers based on the acreage planted, regardless of crop, to prevent distorting planting decisions.

Dairy and pork producers, as well as growers of cherries, cranberries and nuts, also will receive support, officials said.
U.S. President Donald Trump announces a second aid package worth $16 billion for farmers impacted by the China–United States trade war.