Trump announces $12 billion aid, vows new ‘golden age’ for US farmers
Washington, Dec 9 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping assistance package for American farmers, unveiling up to $12 billion in what he called “economic assistance” funded through tariff revenues, as he used a White House roundtable to accuse the previous administration of leaving behind “a total mess” marked by “the highest inflation in the country’s history.”
“We inherited a total mess from the Biden administration,” Trump said at the meeting on Monday, adding that his administration had “brought prices way down” and hit “a very important number” with gasoline at $1.99 a gallon in three states. “The Democrats caused the affordability problem, and we’re the ones that are fixing it,” he said.
Joined by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, senior lawmakers, and farmers, Trump said the new initiative would deliver “$12 billion in economic assistance to American farmers,” which he said would provide “much needed certainty” as producers prepare for next year’s crop decisions.
Rollins later clarified that $11 billion would be released immediately, with $1 billion held in reserve. “Today we are announcing $11 billion, we are holding $1 billion back,” she said, adding that eligible farmers would know their payment amounts “by the end of this month.”
Trump insisted the payouts were made possible by tariff revenue: “We’re taking a relatively small portion of the hundreds of billions of dollars we receive in tariffs… Without it, we wouldn’t be able to help you.”
Throughout the event, Trump cast farmers as central to economic recovery. “Farmers are an indispensable national asset, part of the backbone of America,” he said. He claimed Biden-era policies led to a surge in bankruptcies, saying “farm bankruptcies under Joe Biden went up 55 percent,” and argued that his return to office had reversed course. “Now we’re once again in a position where a president is able to put farmers first.”
Trump highlighted fresh commitments from trading partners, saying China was buying “a tremendous amount of soybeans” and that President Xi Jinping “is going to do even more than he promised to do.” He also noted Japan had agreed to purchase “$8 billion in purchases of corn, soybeans, ethanol, fertilizer, aviation, biofuel, and rice.”
Bessent said China had committed to purchase “at least $12 million metric tons of US soybeans this growing season, followed by a minimum of 25 million tons annually for the next three years.” He added that Trump was “ushering in a new golden age for agriculture.”
Hassett said Biden-era policies had sharply raised costs. “During Biden’s term, 150,000 farms closed,” he said, arguing that interest expenses had increased by $8 billion per year.”
Trump also vowed to roll back environmental restrictions on farm machinery. “We’re going to take off a lot of the environmental restrictions that they have on machinery… It makes the equipment much more expensive and much more complicated to work,” he said. “We’re going to take that crap off that they put on Biden, mostly.”
Farmers at the event offered personal testimony. Iowa producer Cordt Holub called the payments “Christmas early for farmers” and said the package would help him “farm another year.” Holub also pressed Trump to secure year-round sales of E15 ethanol. “E15 is a great deal year-round,” he said.
Rice miller Meryl Kennedy of Louisiana warned that imports from India, Thailand, and China were harming producers. “We do believe that countries are dumping rice into this country today,” she said. “Puerto Rico used to be one of the largest markets for US rice… We’ve never seen imports this great.” Trump responded: “This all solved so quickly with tariffs… It solves the problem in two minutes.”
Responding to questions from reporters, Trump said inflation was “essentially gone,” adding, “We brought it down very substantially now.” He also said he preferred “home-grown” produce even if imports were sometimes cheaper.
Trump said the farm sector did not want permanent subsidies. “Farmers don’t want aid, they want to have a level playing field… If they have a level playing field, they’ll do better than anybody else.”
The US administrations have relied heavily on tariff tools and emergency payments to cushion farmers from market volatility and trade retaliation, particularly in the soybean, corn, pork, and rice sectors. China remains the largest foreign buyer of US agricultural goods, making its import decisions central to farm-state economic conditions.
The farm economy is also closely tied to US electoral politics, with rural states forming a significant bloc in presidential races and congressional majorities. Agricultural support programs, biofuel mandates, and tariff strategies often feature prominently in domestic policy debates during election cycles.
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