USDA Authorizes $12M Fund Support for the Country’s Farmers

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authorized US$12bn in funding for programs aimed at supporting the country’s farmers, who are reeling from the effects of China’s tariffs on US agriculture products.  US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said several actions were being taken to assist farmers in response to “trade damage from unjustified retaliation”. This included a Market Facilitation Program which would provide direct payments to affected farmers producing goods such as soya, sorghum, corn and hogs, a Food Purchase and Distribution Program which buy up unexpected surpluses and the Trade Promotion Program which would develop new export opportunities.

The USDA said that trade damage from China’s tariffs, imposed in retaliation to US tariffs on various Chinese imports, adversely affected key US agriculture commodities, including soybeans and sorghum. Additionally, the agency alleged that US goods shipped overseas were being slowed from reaching their destination markets by “unusually strict or cumbersome entry procedures”. 

US farmer groups said that while the aid package was welcome, the only long-term solution would be the removal of the tariffs on China. The American Soybean Association (ASA) said it appreciated the US government’s response but wanted a longer-term strategy to alleviate the soybean surpluses, including the removal of harmful tariffs.