Coronavirus Causes More Aid For Farmers and Tariffs Still Stand

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The farmers continue to get smashed during the Trump administration's rule of our country.  Yes, I used the word 'rule' since that is precisely what the administration believes their duty is across the tremendous democratic land of the United States.  Farmers want to trade instead of aid, and the Trump administration refuses to ease tariffs.  This is even though, as I have previously written about, the cost of tariffs is directly passed on from China to the American consumer.  How much more can this administration bleed the pocketbooks of Americans while standing up in front of a camera (i.e., media) and profess to be working for the average American?



I say this because recent reporting from Politico Agriculture has shed light on these issues directly.  Shown below are two excerpts which highlight the introduction above:



Excerpt 1

'UNPRECEDENTED': SIZING UP THE FEDERAL FARM RESCUE: Trump on Friday signed the $2 trillion stimulus package, including some $23 billion in extra aid for agriculture. Now it's the Agriculture Department's turn to figure out how to distribute those emergency dollars to farmers and ranchers dealing with falling commodity prices.

There are few strings attached to the farm provisions, even though Democrats were wary of setting up another "slush fund" for USDA to disperse funds across the industry as officials saw fit, Pro Ag's Catherine Boudreau writes this a.m.

That mistrust stemmed in part from how the administration designed its more than $23 billion trade bailout program, which critics said unfairly benefited Southern states, wealthy farmers and even foreign meatpackers.

"We'll be monitoring implementation to hold USDA accountable to distributing aid fairly and encourage USDA to follow the bipartisan payment limits set by the farm bill," said a spokesperson for Senate Ag ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who has criticized the department for alleged inequities in its trade relief programs.

Joseph Glauber, former USDA chief economist, said the stimulus funds, trade aid and traditional farm subsidies could total around $50 billion in fiscal 2020 alone. "Unprecedented to say the least," said Glauber, now a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Implementing the farm stimulus plan could prove even trickier than the trade bailout, which was based on the tariff damage to specific commodities and counties. "I am not sure how you would separate out price impacts from COVID-19 versus other market factors," Glauber said in an email. "My guess is that the distribution and amounts will look a lot like 2019."

Funds for farmers markets: The stimulus is the first disaster relief package to explicitly include local and regional food markets, according to Ferd Hoefner, senior strategic advisor at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

By the numbers: The group pointed to research estimating that those markets could lose $1.3 billion between March and May. The overwhelming majority of farms supplying those markets are small, and about a quarter are new farmers, per USDA data.

Excerpt 2

TRUMP SHOOTS DOWN TALK OF TARIFF CUTS: The president rejected a Wall Street Journal report that the administration might stop collecting duties for three months to help hard-hit companies weather the economic storm. At a White House briefing on Friday, Trump said the report was "just more fake news," our Pro Trade friends tell MA.

"Everybody keeps saying, 'Oh, are you going to suspend the tariffs?'" Trump said at the briefing. "Well, the answer is no."

Reminder: Trump has left trade war duties in place on more than $350 billion in Chinese goods, in addition to steel and aluminum tariffs on China, the EU and many other nations. The U.S. collected nearly $72 billion in tariffs in fiscal 2019, up from $41.6 billion the prior year.

Given the two excerpts above, coupled with the reporting out of the White House, one has to wonder why Americans continue to get stuck financially?  Especially when the Trump administration is telling the American people that everyone is doing wonderfully.


Are you or your family suffering economically during these times?


Think about what the supposed aid has done for the American people over the last few years.  Stay informed and up to date.  I am amazed at the judgment of colleagues who say that the leadership coming out of the White House is stellar.  Regardless of your political disposition, it is hard to deny that the economic policy has not hurt the American people.  Farmers need real help, not lip service, as does the rest of the nation.



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