Summary
- Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent announced support for farmers. - Support
due to China’s halt on soybean purchases. - Detailed
announcement expected Tuesday from the federal government.
American farmers overwhelmingly voted for President Donald
Trump in the 2024 presidential election, Bessent said.
“We’ve got their backs,”
he added.
The trade conflict between Washington and Beijing has
prevented Chinese importers from purchasing soybeans from the autumn U.S. crop,
costing American farmers billions of dollars in lost sales.
“It’s unfortunate that Chinese leadership has decided
to use the American farmers, soybean farmers, in particular, as a hostage or
pawn in the trade negotiations,”
Bessent said.
Trump stated on Wednesday that when he meets with Chinese
President Xi Jinping in four weeks, soybeans will be a key topic of
conversation.
Bessent stated that the purchase of American agricultural
products was a part of nearly all recent U.S. trade agreements, “so we’re
going to see other countries substitute for China.”
He claimed that prices were also being impacted by a record
harvest.
“On Tuesday, you’re going to see substantial support
for the farmers, and we’re also going to be working with the Farm Credit Bureau
to make sure that the farmers have what they need for next planning,”
Bessent said.
Trump’s face-to-face meeting with China’s Xi to establish
the foundation for future trade will be very beneficial, Bessent added.
“I think with President Trump’s leadership and his
relationship – the respect party chair Xi has for him – that this round, which
would be our fifth round of talks, should show a pretty big breakthrough,”
Bessent said.
How does this aid compare to past US agricultural assistance
programs?
Previously provided substantial federal assistance for
agriculture has taken the form of a comprehensive disaster relief and economic
aid package, such as in American Relief Act of 2025 ($31 billion in aid
covering disaster recovery and economic losses across a wide variety of crops
throughout the country). This latest assistance appears more
trade-related—sought to lessen the losses that are directly related to the
influx of soybean exports causing from China barring purchases.
The Trump administration’s Market Facilitation Program was
previously employed to provide trade-related assistance as the previous
administration aid farmers $23 billion in assistance for trade disruptions
caused by tariffs and restricted export markets.
Bessent’s planned upcoming announcement fits in line with
the approach, as producers and suppliers would have a safety net in place when
trade, or other circumstances, alter demand for U.S. agricultural exports.
