Trump Says Tariff Revenue Will Fund Relief for Farmers
Export Markets for Crops Have Dried Up in Wake of Trade Wars
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President Donald Trump said his administration will use funds collected from tariffs to assist beleaguered U.S. farmers, who have thus far been hit hard by his trade policies.
“We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we’ve made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are — for a little while — going to be hurt until it kicks in, the tariffs kick in to their benefit,” Trump said Sept. 25 at the White House.
American farming communities, which largely voted for Trump in 2024, have experienced economic pain during his second term, as export markets for crops have dried up in the wake of the president’s trade wars and federal safety-net programs have shrunk.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Sept. 24 that the administration would provide financial assistance to farmers “perhaps in the next couple of weeks.”
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Trump’s comments expand on how that program would work, but using tariff revenue for farm aid could prove risky. The president’s sweeping duties imposed using emergency powers have been ruled illegal by lower courts, and if the Supreme Court affirms those decisions, the government could have to pay back tens of billions of dollars in refunds.
Still, farmers have long been eager for relief. Crop revenues have been under pressure since before the start of Trump’s second term, due to falling commodity prices while rising costs for seeds, fertilizer and equipment have further squeezed profit margins.
Producers are also grappling with China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. The Asian nation — the world’s largest soybean importer — has yet to book a single shipment of the U.S. oilseed this season, fueling anxiety among farmers as this year’s harvest moves ahead.
