President Donald Trump is planning to provide a whopping USD 12 billion emergency financial aid to farmers who have been hit by retaliatory tariffs on agricultural products imposed by trading partners like China, India and the European Union, according to media reports.
The Trump administration is planning to make the announcement in this regard soon, multiple media reports said, quoting an unnamed official familiar with the matter.
Such a move comes after farmers across the country especially those of products like soybeans and apple have complained that the retaliatory tariffs have hit them very badly.
Lawmakers from several States have been writing to Trump administration not to enter into a trade war with countries like China because of this.
Trump has insisted that he is not going back. His officials are now planning to give a USD 12 billion assistance to farmers so that they are not adversely impacted by this.
The funds will come through direct assistance, a food purchase and distribution program, and a trade promotion programme, The Washington Post said.
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It will rely in part on a Depression-era programme called the Commodity Credit Corporation, a division of the Agriculture Department that was created in 1933 to offer a financial backstop for farmers, it said.
The trade rift between the US and some of its closest allies has prompted retaliations and legal actions following Trump's decision earlier this year to impose tariffs of 10 per cent on aluminum imports and 25 per cent on steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the EU, The Wall Street Journal reported.