The following programs will assist agricultural producers to meet the costs of disrupted markets:
- USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will administer the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) to provide payments to corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean, and wheat producers starting Sept. 4, 2018. An announcement about further payments will be made in the coming months, if warranted.
- USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will administer a Food Purchase and Distribution Program to purchase up to $1.2 billion in commodities targeted by tariff retaliation. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will distribute these commodities through nutrition assistance programs such as The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and child nutrition programs.
- Through the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP), $200 million will be made available to develop foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products. The program will help U.S. agricultural exporters identify and access new markets and help mitigate the adverse effects of other countries’ restrictions.
In response to the announcement, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “The additional burden of tariffs on the goods we sell to China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union has been more than many farmers can bear. Today’s aid announcement gives us some breathing room, but it will keep many of us going only a few months more.”
Some industry groups were a little more critical of the aid package. “NAWG [National Association of Wheat Growers] appreciates the administration’s steps to hold China accountable for unfair trade practices, but tariffs and the subsequent self-inflicted need to provide aid aren’t the answer. Farmers across the country want ‘trade, not aid’—especially wheat growers,” said NAWG President and Sentinel Jimmie Musick. “Farm income is down, and rural America is enduring a prolonged economic downturn. This relief package shows that the administration isn’t grasping the tough conditions being faced by farmers. The long-term solution is to end the trade war.”
