Trump Promises Farmers More Trade Aid if Needed

President Trump took to Twitter on Friday to talk trade. There have been questions on the possibility of more trade aid distribution this year, with the president seemingly saying it’s a possibility.

However, The Hagstrom Report says Trump isn’t technically accurate when he says the aid will come out of tariff income. The money comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation, which was set up back in the 1930s as a way to distribute aid to farmers. The CCC is a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has a line of credit set up at the Treasury Department that Congress replenishes.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue has told farmers recently to not expect more trade aid in 2020. The Trump Administration has already paid out a total of $28 billion in trade aid by way of payments to farmers, trade promotion, and purchases from food items for distribution to food shelves across the country.

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