Trump says $12 billion bailout plan for farmers will come from tariff revenue
President Donald Trump announced a total $12 billion in funding to help American farmers during an event on Monday, and said that it would come from tariff revenue.
"I'm delighted to announce this afternoon that the United States will be taking a small portion of the hundreds of billions of dollars we receive in tariffs. ... and we're going to be giving and providing it to the farmers in economic assistance. And we love our farmers," the president said.
The package includes $11 billion in one-time payments to crop farmers through a new Department of Agriculture bridge payment program. The remaining funds will then go to other crops not covered by that program.
"This relief will provide much-needed certainty to farmers as they get this year's harvest to market and look ahead to next year's crops. And it'll help them continue their efforts to lower food prices for American families," Trump added.
The long-promised aid package is intended to provide relief to farmers who have been hurt directly by Trump's trade policies, including his global tariffs.
Impact of tariffs on farmers
The aid package comes as the U.S.-China trade war has hit soybean farmers especially hard. Through most of this fall, during a bumper harvest season, China had blocked all purchases of soybeans from the U.S.
China was the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans in 2024, accounting for $12.64 billion in sales, according to the USDA.
During Trump's high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi in late October, the U.S. and China announced a framework trade agreement that included a deal on soybeans. China agreed to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans in the final two months of this year and 25 million metric tons in 2026, 2027 and 2028 -- on par with levels before the trade war.
So far, China has purchased about 2.2 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. since the end of October, USDA data shows.
New package comes after Argentina bailout controversy
The administration's new actions also come on the heels of the administration's $20 billion bailout of Argentina, a move many American farmers and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle criticized.
This fall, as China stopped buying all soybeans from U.S. farmers, it purchased soybeans from Argentina instead. So as the U.S. was giving a financial lifeline to Argentina, a country that directly benefited from the trade war, American farmers said they felt left behind.
"Farmers VERY upset [about] Argentina selling soybeans to China right after USA bail out Still ZERO USA soybeans sold to China," Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote in a September social media post about the bailout.
Trump, in his first term, also took action to bail out American farmers. His administration approved two packages in 2018 and 2019 totaling $28 billion for farmers impacted by his economic policies.
