WASHINGTON, Dec 9 — US President Donald Trump announced a US$12 billion aid package for American farmers yesterday, targeting a key support base that has been hit by the fallout from his trade and tariff policies.

The Republican said he was taking “very vital action to protect and defend American farmers,” during a roundtable with agricultural producers at the White House.

Trump has faced mounting pressure to help farmers, whose support helped win him a second term in office but who have been battered by the impact of his sweeping tariffs.

Since Trump’s return in January, many US farmers have been hit by factors including retaliatory measures from trading partners and tariffs on imported goods used in farming.

“We love our farmers, and as you know the farmers like me,” Trump said during the roundtable.

Trump said the $12 billion in aid for farmers would be funded by a “relatively small portion” of the revenue from tariffs.

Most of the bailout involves one-off payments to crop farmers.

Washington’s trade row this year with superpower rival Beijing saw soybean exports plunge and Chinese buyers holding off new orders from the US autumn harvest.

Amid the lower demand, soybean prices fell as well, hitting the sector hard, although a recent trade truce sought to ensure renewed Chinese purchases of agriculture goods ranging from soybeans to sorghum.

Trump said he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping would do “even more than he promised to do” on soybeans, following their recent meeting at a summit in South Korea.

Affordability problem

The US president repeatedly blamed former president Joe Biden for the problems faced by American farmers.

But the situation has echoes of Trump’s first presidency, when retaliatory tariffs caused over $27 billion in US agriculture export losses from 2018 to 2019.

The government, in turn, provided $23 billion to assist farmers hit by trade disputes at the time.

Trump’s Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the government was releasing an initial $11 billion for crops and would hold back another $1 billion for where it was needed most.

Trump has also recently vowed to support US cattle farmers as beef prices surged in part due to a tighter supply of herds.

Costs had risen for various reasons including drought and lower imports from Mexico due to a pest in herds there, adding to cost-of-living pressures that American households are facing.

Trump’s farm aid announcement came amid mounting dissatisfaction with his economic policies, particularly over tariffs and the cost of living.

The 79-year-old will hit the road in coming months to push his economic agenda, starting with a speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Trump appeared to soften his message a little on Monday, acknowledging an affordability “problem” after repeatedly dismissing it in recent weeks as a “hoax” and a “con job” by rival Democrats.

“The Democrats caused the affordability problem and we’re fixing it,” he said. — AFP