Trump Greenlights Second Round of Farm Payments

On Monday, President Trump announced the Administration would be fulfilling the second half of assistance through the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) to help farmers impacted by the trade war between the United States and China.

Bloombergreports the administration distributed some $4.7 billion in the first round of direct government aid. With tensions between Trump and China showing signs of thawing, there was uncertainty within the agriculture industry as to when or if the second round would be distributed.

In a statement Monday, the U.S. Agriculture Department put the total payment at $9.57 billion.

“While there have been positive movements on the trade front, American farmers are continuing to experience losses due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations,” Perdue said in the statement Monday.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall notes this latest trade mitigation package announcement will help farmers and ranchers weather the continuing trade storm.

"We continue to feel price pressure and very real economic damage due to the trade actions other nations have taken against our U.S. farm exports," he says. "While this assistance package will help a number of our farm families during this year of severe economic challenge, the best way to provide lasting relief is to continue pushing for trade and tariff reform from trading partners like China, Canada, Mexico, India, Turkey and the European Union.”

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) met with senior officials at USDA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and sent a letter to USDA reminding them of the ongoing damaging impacts that these tariffs have had on wheat growers and noting that a second round of assistance to producers is justified. In the letter, NAWG pointed out that wheat growers have lost around $323 million in total sales to China.

“These retaliatory tariffs are not only harming growers through loss of sales but are also placing pressure on wheat prices," said NAWG President and Sentinel, OK, wheat farmer Jimmie Musick. "Growers want new export markets and trade deals so that this sort of assistance isn’t necessary.”