❝ President Donald Trump set off a wave of outrage…among Republican lawmakers, who accused the president of authorizing a “bailout” and “welfare” for Americans caught in the crosshairs of his own tariffs.
“It’s awful. American farmers want markets, not handouts. This is what we feared all along—that this would just turn into more aid programs,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told The Daily Beast.
❝ Reactions—nearly all of them negative—poured in from Capitol Hill after the Department of Agriculture announced that it would authorize $12 billion in “emergency” subsidies to farmers whose businesses have been hurt by the president’s trade policies, which have sparked retaliatory tariffs from China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union…
❝ “Our farmers have been in non-stop saying they want trade not aid. And now they’re being put on welfare. So the tariff policies that have been put in place by the administration are now causing them to invoke a welfare policy for our farmers, which I’m sure is not what they wish,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who has proposed legislation requiring congressional approval of some tariffs, told reporters…
“The administration creates a problem for farmers, and now they need to put them on welfare. I think that’s kind of a misplaced policy,” Corker added.
RTFA for even more. When I first heard this silly-ass proposal my hope was that a few Congressional Republicans remained who weren’t full-time Trump pimps – and would raise a fuss. Here we go!
Eideard 
🁢 “U.S. farmers planted more soybean acres than corn for the first time in 35 years even as domestic soy supplies reached the biggest on record for early June, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday.” https://www.agweb.com/article/us-soybean-acres-to-top-corn-for-the-first-time-since-1983/
🁢 Soybean prices in the U.S. and Brazil, the nations that account for roughly 80 percent of global exports, have taken drastically different paths thanks to Donald Trump’s trade war. https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/ikqabaJL94_Q/v2/490x-1.png
🁢 “Soybean giant Brazil swoops on US crop as China trade war punctures prices : Non-Chinese buyers cash on American supplies to feed demand in their own countries, analysts say” https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2156195/soybean-giant-brazil-swoops-us-crop-china-trade-war
🁢 “China, which imports 60 per cent of the soybeans traded worldwide, bought 32.9 million tonnes from the US last year, accounting for 34 per cent of total purchases.
That total is forecast to drop by 6.8 million tonnes for the 2018/19 crop year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.”
🁢 “Chinese money pours into Brazil as US trade war bites, with US$54 billion across 100 projects” https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2156536/china-turns-brazil-amid-trade-battle-us
“Soybeans are stranded at sea in the US-China trade war” https://qz.com/1352797/soybeans-are-stuck-at-sea-in-the-us-china-trade-war/
“How Soybeans Explain What’s Really Going on in Trump’s Trade War” https://www.dcreport.org/2018/08/08/the-truth-behind-trumps-economic-lies/
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) supported President Donald Trump’s $12 billion bailout for U.S. farmers to mitigate the damaging effects of the trade war. Now the senator is applying for those same bailout funds for his own 750-acre Iowa farm, The Washington Post reports.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/09/28/sen-charles-grassley-apply-bailout-money-farmers-under-white-house-program/?utm_term=.9e7ebd370ef2
Bailout money isn’t being provided to other industries impacted by the trade war. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already cut some 7,800 checks worth a total of $25 million for farmers, many in the swing states of the Midwest that voted for Trump in 2016.
Nov. 19, 2018: “Farm bailout payments intended to offset the impacts of President Trump’s trade war have instead flowed to more than 1,000 “city slickers” who live in the nation’s largest cities, an EWG analysis of Department of Agriculture data shows. The payments detailed in the data released to EWG through a Freedom of Information Act request represent only a tiny fraction of the almost $5 billion in payments expected to come.” https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2018/11/ewg-analysis-trump-s-farm-bailout-payments-flowing-city-slickers
“Spoils of Trade War: Argentina Loads Up On Cheap U.S. Soybean” https://gcaptain.com/spoils-of-trade-war-argentina-loads-up-on-cheap-u-s-soybean/ Argentina – one of the world’s top soybean exporters, and the top exporter of processed meal and oil – usually has no reason to import beans. But this year, the South American nation has raced to the top of the list of U.S. soybean importers because the prices of U.S. beans have fallen by 15 percent since late May, when China first threatened tariffs on them. China’s soybean tariffs, which have virtually halted purchases of U.S. soybeans that last year totaled $12 billion, came in retaliation for Trump’s duties on Chinese steel and aluminum. That has left U.S. farmers and grains merchants with huge inventories of soybeans because China typically buys 60 percent of U.S. soy exports. Meanwhile, on a delivered basis to China, Canadian soybeans were fetching a premium of up to $3 per bushel this fall over the Chicago futures price, more than double the premium U.S. soybeans make in export markets.
The Trump administration announced Monday a second and “final” round of trade aid for farmers and ranchers burned by retaliatory tariffs, including roughly $4.9 billion [$4,900,000,000] in additional direct payments for certain commodity producers. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/17/trump-farmers-trade-relief-usda-1067716 “The second batch of trade relief payments is President Donald Trump’s latest effort to stem the pain inflicted on U.S. agricultural producers by his trade feuds. But just as with the first round, commodity groups are complaining that the aid is not nearly enough to offset the damage from retaliatory duties.
The move brings the total direct payments to farmers to nearly $9.6 billion [$9,600,000,000] More than 75 percent of the direct trade relief is devoted to soybean growers, who have been slammed by the drop in demand from China, the largest foreign market for U.S. soy.”
The American Soybean Association (ASA) represents 300,000 soybean farmers in what used to be a $14 billion industry.
Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on Monday night fired back at President Trump over the president’s $12 billion farm aid package, calling it a “bailout.” https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/421804-gop-lawmaker-fires-back-at-trump-over-farm-aid
“My fellow Republicans used to oppose bailouts,” Amash wrote, responding to Trump’s tweet from earlier in the day. “Now, they euphemistically call them ‘market facilitation payments.'”
“@POTUS’s big-government trade policy hurt many farmers and ranchers, and he’s responding with even bigger government,” Amash added.
Trump’s farmer bailout just hit $7.7 billion https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-farmer-bailout-215401745.html
Trump pushes for new bailouts for “great Patriot farmers” hurt by his trade war https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/14/18622956/trump-trade-war-china-bailout-farmers-socialism Trump’s latest tariffs subsidy plan comes on the heels of a $12 billion program that was available to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs last year.
See NYT “A $12 Billion Program to Help Farmers Stung by Trump’s Trade War Has Aided Few.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/us/politics/farming-trump-trade-war.html
“Trump administration showers Brazilian crooks with $62M bailout money meant for struggling U.S. farmers” https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-trump-administration-bailout-farmers-brazilian-criminals-20190516-6rdb3ithvfec7fttem7qrny54y-story.html
“Among the Beneficiaries of Trump’s Tariff Bailout for Farmers? A Brazilian-Owned Meat Company : How a multinational corporation is cashing in on the Trade War.” https://www.motherjones.com/food/2019/05/among-the-beneficiaries-of-trumps-tariff-bailout-for-farmers-a-brazilian-owned-meat-company/
May 23, 2019: “White House To Announce $16 Billion In Aid To Farmers Hurt By Trade War With China” https://www.npr.org/2019/05/23/726117690/white-house-to-announce-16-billion-in-aid-to-farmers-hurt-by-trade-war-with-chin “Trump’s hard-line moves on trade with China have reduced U.S. income at a rate of around $1.4 billion a month, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research https://www.nber.org/papers/w25672 . Analysis by the New York Fed estimates the new tariffs will cost the average U.S. household $831 annually https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2019/05/new-china-tariffs-increase-costs-to-us-households.html .
Last year, the Trump administration provided $12 billion in aid to farmers to try to offset their losses from the trade war.”
A total of $28 billion is $28,000,000,000 dollars. In 2018, there were just over two million farms of all types in the United States, roughly 300,000 of which were growing soybeans.
President Donald Trump’s snap decision to send billions of dollars in new aid to farmers could be bad for the farm economy and the federal budget. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/trump-farmer-bailout-trade-usda-1459840 Many farmers are still deciding what to plant this spring and could be swayed toward crops that receive higher payouts from the aid package, such as soybeans. That would add to already record supplies and further depress prices that have been falling for five years.
The USDA announced today that amount of money farmers receive this year will largely depend on the county in which they live in, instead of what they grow. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/farmers-aid-trade-relief-1469225
May 25, 2019: “Unrelenting Rain Puts U.S. Farmers on Insurance-Deadline Watch” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-24/unrelenting-rain-puts-u-s-farmers-on-insurance-deadline-watch “Storms across the Midwest and Great Plains have resulted in the wettest 12-month stretch on record in the U.S., with the deluge closing refineries and snarling Mississippi River traffic https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-24/unceasing-midwest-rains-add-to-wettest-12-months-ever-for-u-s . Crucially for agriculture markets, it’s also hampered crop planting. Worries over tighter supplies due to the soggy weather drove Chicago corn futures to surge as much as 3.9% on Friday, topping $4 a bushel and rising to the highest level in almost a year.
The wet weather’s showing no signs of easing, and the insurance deadline for sowing has already passed for some farmers in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas and western Tennessee. They now have to decide whether to plant with less coverage, or make prevented-plant claims.
Further complicating matters is President Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that farmers could apply for a slice of a $16 billion aid package to mitigate the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. However, in order to qualify, farmers must plant crops. Then, payments will depend on production in the their county.
The Senate also passed a $19.1 billion natural disaster relief package that includes $3 billion related to the loss of crops in recent hurricanes, flooding and for seeds prevented from planting this year. A Republican House member temporarily blocked fast-track passage, meaning lawmakers will probably vote when they return in early June from a week-long recess.”
Pennsylvania farmers: Trump bailout won’t cover losses (WITF News, Penn) https://www.witf.org/news/2019/05/pennsylvania-farmers-trump-bailout-wont-cover-losses.php
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, will apply for financial assistance offered by the Trump administration as part of the latest bailout package for farmers hurt by the White House’s ongoing tariff war with China. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/25/18639904/gop-senator-chuck-grassley-farm-aid-trump-trade-war-china
Trump’s $16-billion farm bailout means you’re paying for his tariff war twice https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-trump-tariff-bailout-20190524-story.html
“USDA gave almost 100 percent of Trump’s trade war bailout to white farmers” https://newfoodeconomy.org/usda-trump-trade-war-bailout-white-farmers-race/
An analysis of data obtained from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals Trump’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP) has almost exclusively benefited white men and their families, who appear to be disproportionately upper middle-class or wealthy. In fact a disproportionate share of MFP money has been paid out to families operating large-scale farms, who have even more wealth. These payments further entrench already drastic inequalities in agriculture, along racial, ethnic, gender, and class lines.
The MFP has become the single largest source of subsidies for farmers.As of today, USDA has distributed more than $8.5 billion to farm operations through the MFP. The Trump administration plans to distribute up to an additional $14.5 billion to farm operators for crops produced this year. Most of that money will go to well-off white families.
These disparities are the result of historical and recent discrimination. The federal government played a role in withholding farmland from, and dispossessing, farmers of color, especially black and Native American ones. See https://newfoodeconomy.org/usda-black-farmers-discrimination-tom-vilsack-reparations-civil-rights/
“For the American farmers President Trump counts on for support, the government money is flowing faster than ever.” (NYT Oct 12, 2020) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/us/politics/trump-farmers-subsidies.html
“Federal payments to farmers are projected to hit a record $46 billion this year as the White House funnels money to Mr. Trump’s rural base in the South and Midwest ahead of Election Day.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/us/politics/virus-trump-aid-farmers.html
“The gush of funds has accelerated in recent weeks as the president looks to help his core supporters who have been hit hard by the double whammy of his combative trade practices and the coronavirus pandemic. According to the American Farm Bureau, debt in the farm sector is projected to increase by 4 percent to a record $434 billion this year https://www.fb.org/market-intel/farm-cash-receipts-forecasted-to-hit-a-decade-low-in-2020 and farm bankruptcies have continued to rise across the country” (despite record levels of federal aid). https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-farmers-declare-bankruptcy-despite-record-levels-of-federal-aid-11596706201
US farmers won’t see a year as profitable as 2020 for a decade : Federal aid payments accounted for more than a third of US farmers’ $121.1bn in net income last year. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/2/16/us-farmers-will-not-see-profitable-year-for-a-decade-usda-warns