Trump offers $16 billion in aid for farmers hurt by trade war with China

The Agriculture Department said Thursday it will provide $16 billion in assistance to farmers to help offset their losses triggered by the ongoing trade conflict with China and other countries.The program will provide as much as $14 billion in direct payments to farmers and comes amid a breakdown in talks between the U.S. and China that were intended to forge a new trade deal between the world’s two largest economies.

President Donald Trump, who will formally announce the program at the White House later Thursday, ordered the farm assistance because he knew producers would bear the brunt of the fallout from the stalled trade talks, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters.

“All of this would have been moot if China had acted appropriately and fairly,” Perdue said.

The program is modeled after a $12 billion financial assistance program put in place last year to help farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs levied by China after Trump had slapped duties on Chinese products.