Trump teases more aid to American farmers as China halts buying U.S. products
By Robert Schroeder
Published: Aug 6, 2019 4:32 p.m. ET
With the U.S. and China mired in a trade brawl, Trump said on Twitter that American farmers “know that China will not be able to hurt them in that their President has stood with them and done what no other president would do.”
Making an election-year pledge, the president added, “And I’ll do it again next year if necessary!”
Trump’s tweet came after China said it would suspend all imports of U.S. agricultural goods, a move that the head of the American Farm Bureau Federation called a “body blow” to American farmers and ranchers. The administration has taken steps to help farmers hurt by the trade fight. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week began signing up farmers for a program that will disperse about $14.5 billion, following a roughly $10 billion program last year. Farmers, writes the Journal, say the government payments will help, but likely won’t make them whole.