U.S. President Donald Trump announced an emergency support package totaling $12 billion (about 17.63 trillion won) for domestic farms hit economically by the fallout from the U.S.-China trade conflict.
The funds will be drawn from tariff revenues newly imposed by the Trump administration. The White House said the support will serve as a bridge to give U.S. farms breathing room amid the trade war.
On the 8th (local time) at the White House, President Trump held a farm-related roundtable with the Treasury Minister and the Agriculture Minister, among others, to formalize the support measures. The Agriculture Department (USDA) named the newly designed plan the "Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA)."
Of the $12 billion in aid, up to $11 billion (about 16.16 trillion won) will be paid directly in a lump sum to farms growing major row crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton, sorghum, rice and potatoes, as well as to livestock producers. The remaining $1 billion (about 1.47 trillion won) will be used to support sectors excluded from this program, such as farms growing specialty crops.
The Agriculture Department fixed the timing of support so farms can firmly set next year's farming plans. Agriculture Minister Brooke Rollins said at the meeting, "A significant number of American farmers are facing a crisis unlike anything they have seen in their lifetimes," and added, "We will take steps to ensure funds flow to farms by Feb. 28, 2026."
President Trump added that the funding for this plan was covered by tariff revenues imposed on imports. He said, "We are taking a portion of the hundreds of billions of dollars in tariff revenues the United States is collecting to support farms," emphasizing, "Without tariffs, this money would not exist." Experts said the intent was to highlight that, rather than Trump's protectionism harming farms, it became the financial source.
Since the launch of the second Trump administration this year, the U.S.-China trade conflict has reignited, and China has effectively halted purchases of U.S. soybeans. China had been the largest importer, taking about half of U.S. soybean exports. According to AP, American farms have already struggled with falling agricultural prices since 2022 and rising production expenses for fertilizer, equipment and other inputs. With the China export route cut off on top of that, U.S. farms faced significant financial pressure.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), more than half of U.S. farms posted losses this year. They had to rely on off-farm income to make a living. The Washington Post (WP) reported, "China was the largest international consumer of U.S. agricultural products," and said the halt in exports to China was a "painful blow" to U.S. agriculture.
The total $12 billion in support amounts to about one-third of the $34 billion in losses U.S. farms suffered this year. The AFBF projected that the combined losses of farms growing nine major crops in the United States this year would exceed $34 billion (about 50 trillion won). The AFBF estimated corn farms would lose more than $15 billion, soybean farms $6.7 billion and wheat farms $5.8 billion.
The plan is seen as a political move to shore up support in the Farm Belt, a traditional Republican stronghold, ahead of the midterm elections in Nov. next year. Reuters called the step "the administration's effort to sustain a core political base that has been hit financially."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized in a CBS interview that the aid would serve as a "bridge" to help farms finance and plan next year's planting. Because agriculture is a "future industry" that takes a long time until harvest, the logic goes, the continuity of farm economies must be protected from external shocks such as trade conflicts.
During his first term in 2018, when the U.S.-China trade war intensified, President Trump also supported farms under a plan called the Market Facilitation Program. Total aid was $28 billion (about 41 trillion won), more than twice the size of this plan. While the funds temporarily improved farm finances, they also prompted China to diversify soybean import sources to countries like Brazil instead of the United States.
John Newton, AFBF vice president for public policy and economic analysis, told AP that "rural areas urgently need financial support," but added that "$12 billion is a very small share of the accumulated economic losses for farms." The AFBF stressed that generating profit through crop sales, rather than relying on government support, is the fundamental goal.
U.S. farms expressed hope ahead of the announcement, as a mood for a trade truce with China seemed to be taking shape. According to the New York Times (NYT), China agreed in a late-October truce deal to buy at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of this year and at least 25 million tons annually for the next three years.
After the talks, President Trump said, "China has promised to purchase more than $40 billion (about 58.7 trillion won) of U.S. soybeans," adding, "I asked (Chinese President Xi Jinping) whether more was possible, and I believe he will do so." Twenty-five million tons is similar to the 25 million to 30 million tons China imported from the United States before the trade war.
Some, however, pointed out that the plan cannot avoid criticism as a "give with one hand, take with the other" remedy. The argument is that the United States itself sparked the trade war, cornered farms, and then splashed out massive public funds to take credit.
Axios, citing agricultural experts, said, "The plan seeks to minimize the short-term side effects of trade policy and prevent the defection of core supporters," adding, "Voters in the midterms will be swayed by whether China buys soybeans as promised in October and by follow-up steps such as easing farm equipment environmental regulations, as Trump has pledged."