WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is expected to unveil a $12 billion assistance package for farmers hurt by low crop prices and tariff policies on Dec. 8, according to a White House official familiar with the proposal.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are expected to attend the announcement at 2 p.m. ET. Growers of cattle, soybeans, cotton and potatoes are expected to attend.

Trump is helping the agricultural industry by negotiating trade deals to open new export markets for farmers, according to Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson. She contrasted Trump's support with a $1.2 trillion trade deficit and growing production costs during the Biden administration.

"Today’s announcement reflects the president’s commitment to helping our farmers, who will have the support they need to bridge the gap between Biden’s failures and the president’s successful policies taking effect," Kelly said.

Bloomberg News was the first to report on the proposal Dec. 7, citing a White House official. The Wall Street Journal also reported on the package.

What's in Trump's farm aid package?

Within the aid package, $11 billion will go to a newly designed Farmer Bridge Assistance program, which will provide one-time payments to row-crop farmers as they recover from unjustified trade actions by foreign governments and other market disruptions, a White House official said.

The remaining $1 billion will be reserved for other crops, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture will determine, based on market conditions, the official said.

Payments are aimed at providing certainty to farmers as they market this year’s harvest and plan for next year’s crops, the official said.

Farmers say aid 'urgently needed'

Trump has said for months he would provide aid to farmers because of the trade disputes. He reached a trade deal in October with China, the largest customer for U.S. soybeans.

But Chicago soybean futures fell below $11 a bushel Dec. 8 for the first time since October amid uncertainty over whether China will buy as much U.S. supply as Washington expects.

“Under the president’s direction, these farmers will have a backstop if in fact we are not able to move these commodities out,” Rollins told reporters Oct. 16.

The American Farm Bureau Federation said Nov. 24 that aid was “urgently needed” with farm bankruptcies on the rise, as the costs to grow crops outpaced the revenues farmers received.

Farmers experienced multi-billion-dollar declines in exports with their largest overseas markets, including China, after Trump imposed tariffs on imports from abroad.

Soybean farmers in particular were hurt this year because China retaliated against U.S. tariffs with its own tax hikes, which led to buying from Brazil and Argentina instead. China historically bought half of U.S. soybeans.

At Trump's Cabinet meeting Dec. 2, Rollins said one of the administration's goals through the tariffs is to negotiate trade deals that send more products overseas.

"I'm constantly talking to them about selling more soybeans, selling more corn, getting more of our products out," Rollins said. "But when we really think about how to solve for this idea that for so long our farmers, many of them have been farming for government checks instead of moving their product around the world."

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump expected to unveil $12 billion package of farm aid

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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