Washington (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled Thursday that “substantial support” for farmers would be announced next week, particularly for those growing soybeans, as they struggle with fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade conflicts. Worries have been growing for weeks of a major hit to farmers, a key part of Trump’s political base, as exports to China dry up over tariffs instituted by Beijing in retaliation to US levies.
“You should expect some news on Tuesday on substantial support for our farmers, especially the soybean farmers,” Bessent told CNBC early Thursday. The Wall Street Journal also reported Thursday that President Donald Trump is mulling $10 billion or more in aid to American farmers as the trade tensions take a toll. The Trump administration is considering using revenue collected from the president’s tariffs to fund much of this support, the Journal reported, with the money potentially distributed in the upcoming months.
Asked about the matter, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “are always in touch about the needs of our farmers, who played a crucial role in the President’s November (election) victory.” “He has made clear his intention to use tariff revenue to help our agricultural sector, but no final decisions on the contours of this plan have been made,” she told AFP. Bessent did not provide figures in his interview with CNBC either, but said: “They’ve had President Trump’s back, and we’ve got their back.”
Farmers have been particularly caught in the crossfire as Washington and Beijing imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s exports. On Wednesday, Trump said that he planned to push Chinese President Xi Jinping on purchases of US soybeans when they meet in the coming weeks. The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies are expected to speak in around four weeks, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.
The American Soybean Association warned in August that Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs were shutting US farmers out of their biggest export market going into the 2025 harvest — with China being a top global buyer of soybeans. But Beijing’s counter tariffs, after Trump targeted Chinese goods with fresh duties, has stunted sales to the country. Instead, Chinese buyers have relied more on other exporters like Brazil and Argentina.
“Nobody wants to trade with us,” said Jonathan Driver, a soybean farmer in Arkansas. While farmers can still sell their crops, he warned that many are selling them for a loss. “It’s going to put several people out of business,” he told AFP. “And we’ve had prices of everything continue to go up.”
© 2024 AFP
