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The Trump administration is expected to release $3 billion in aid to help struggling farmers, money that has been frozen during the shutdown.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins discussed the upcoming development Tuesday on “The Hill” on NewsNation.
“We’ve got a big announcement coming tomorrow,” she told host Blake Burman, who replied “Make it here.”
“I would love to, but I may be at the White House doing it, but I’ve this first time I’ve said that, there is a really big announcement coming tomorrow, and what we’re going to do to restore and revitalize our beef herd in America, which ultimately will bring the prices down,” Rollins said.
White House officials have directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to help farmers manage to break even amid the largest corn and soybean crops.
The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The release of the aid, expected to be announced on Wednesday at the White House, comes as farmers have been hard hit by the trade war, which had led foreign countries such as China to cut their purchases of soybeans, for example, as other tariffs raise the price of supplies and cut off markets.
“Thursday, USDA will resume Farm Service Agency core operations, including critical services for farm loan processing and ARC/PLC payments, and programs,” an Agriculture Department spokesperson told The Hill.
“President Trump is committed to supporting America’s farmers and ranchers and this action will release billions in assistance for farmers that Democrats in Congress have held up for over 20 days,” the spokesperson added.
China, the largest purchaser of American soybeans, has turned to Argentina in recent months due to their tariff war with the Trump administration. Argentina recently suspended its 26 percent export tax on soybeans, an opening which Beijing jumped on to purchase more than 1 million tons of the crop, according to Reuters.
In recent years, American farm workers were dethroned as the top seller of corn to China, as the foreign nation turned to exports from Brazil.
Now, farm workers who have been riddled by low trade, are also facing fewer workers due to the White House deportation policies. Amid the government shutdown, farmers’ concerns have been exacerbated as land owners lack access to the Agriculture Department’s customer service resources and loans.
Rollins on The Hill on NewsNation said the administration was working to build a bridge for farmers through the trade war.
“The president on Liberation Day also said, if we’ve got to build a bridge for our farmers who may get caught in the cross hairs, especially with China, which is what’s happened with soybean, we will be there to ensure we’re bridging that gap,” she said.
She also suggested the shutdown was delaying more aid to farmers, saying that because USDA is “reliant on programming and formulas and modeling, our employees have been furloughed. So as soon as the shutdown is over, Democrats, please vote to open the government. We will be announcing that program.”
Other Trump administration officials also have maintained that conditions will soon change for the better. The president is expected to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping next week when he visits Asia for the APEC summit in South Korea.
On Sunday, while aboard Air Force One Trump told reporters he would use the opportunity with Xi to push for Beijing to restart buying soybeans “at least in the amount that they were buying before” and “to stop with the fentanyl.”
It’s “very, you know, normal things,” he later added.
