Trump to provide millions of dollars to farmers affected by trade war | International

The United States Government announced Tuesday that it would allocate up to $ 12,000 million in aid to farmers affected by tariffs adopted by other countries in conflict initiated by the White House. In this way, the government publicly admits for the first time that trade disputes with the EU, China, Canada and Mexico, among others, are already having visible effects on the national level .

Read: (The negative impact of the trade war on the economy.)

In recent months, US President Donald Trump has opened several commercial fronts by imposing tariffs on the economy. aluminum and steel to many countries. as well as other Chinese products for tens of billions of dollars. Beijing responded by applying tariffs on US imports; among them, agricultural products such as pork or soy.

Read: (The trade war could subtract 0.5% of global GDP by 2020, IMF)

US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, said that Affected farmers will receive payments directly or will be able to sell your surpluses to the government. The initiative targets producers of soybeans, sorghum, dairy products, fruits, rice and nuts, the official said.

According to Perdue, the measure aims to help "farmers in response to trade damage caused by reciprocal tariffs that are illegal". He added that it was a "short-term solution" to help farmers and give Washington time to negotiate permanent solutions. The announced measures "are a strong statement that other nations will not be able to force the hand with our agricultural producers to force the government to withdraw." Countries that have responded to US tariffs "should stop their bad behavior and not adopt illegal retaliation fees," said Perdue.

In an official note, Perdue's office insisted that aid to farmers is a response to "totally unjustified reprisals imposed on the United States, disproportionate to those directly affecting the United States. our farmers.

Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the government would not let farmers pay for "unlawful retaliation by China and other countries."

The announcements were welcome in the US agricultural sector, although it was emphasized that it was a short-term relief. Zippy Duvall, of the American Federation of Farmers' Offices, said the announced aid "will provide temporary help to our farmers … who are suffering the financial consequences of the trade war". In turn, the National Farmers Union stressed that was "a short-term solution to a long-term problem" and called for solutions for "significant damage" to the agricultural sector.

Similarly, in the US Congress, legislators did not seem to be very pleased with the announcement either. Conservative Senator Jerry Moran felt it was necessary to find a more general solution and not just the distribution of money. "There will never be enough money to solve the problem, what will happen when other countries get markets that are ours" Are we able to pay regularly 12 billions of dollars? "

Senator Bob Corker also noted that the Trump government" put into practice policies that required our farmers to seek state aid, it's a ridiculous policy. " Another conservative senator, John Thune, said Tuesday's announcement "is a recognition that" the aggressive trade policy of the White House "has many unintended consequences, generates many collateral damage."

Democratic opposition lawmakers, Senator Heidi Heitkamp pointed out that "$ 12 billion seem to be a lot of money, but we will literally lose hundreds of millions of dollars," especially in countries with strong agricultural production. [ad_2]
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