Trumponomics

To Ease Pain of Trump’s Trade War: $12 Billion in Aid for Farmers

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday announced up to $12 billion in emergency relief for farmers hurt by the president’s trade war, moving to insulate food producers from looming financial losses that would be a direct result of President Trump’s policies.

The aid to farmers, announced by the United States Department of Agriculture, will come through a direct assistance program, one designed to help with food purchase and distribution and one specifically geared toward promoting trade.

The move is an indication that Mr. Trump — ignoring the concerns of farmers, their representatives in Congress, and even some of his own aides about the adverse consequences of a trade war he says he relishes — plans to plow forward in escalating his tariff tit-for-tat around the world.

“The actions today are a firm statement that other nations cannot bully our agricultural producers to force the United States to cave in,” Sonny Perdue, the secretary of agriculture, said during a call with reporters to unveil the program. “This administration will not stand by while our hard-working agricultural producers bear the brunt of unfriendly and illegal tariffs.”

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/us/politics/farmers-aid-trade-war.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

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