The Trump administration on Monday announced $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers, targeting producers of crops such as soybeans and corn after this year’s tariff increases. The plan was unveiled at a White House roundtable attended by affected farmers and by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Officials said the payments will come from the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation and are intended to help farmers bridge the gap while the administration’s economic policies, including new trade deals and tax changes, take effect. The White House has named the effort the Farm Bridge Assistance program.
President Trump framed the aid as a portion of revenue generated by his tariff program and emphasized his support among farmers. “What we’re doing is we’re taking a relatively small portion of that, and we’re going to be giving and providing it to the farmers in economic assistance. And we love our farmers,” he said, adding that farmers tend to support him based on voting trends.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the payment program “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.”
The announcement comes amid a difficult period for row-crop producers: prices for corn and soybeans have fallen in recent years while input costs have risen. Tariffs have raised costs for some farm inputs, including machinery and fertilizer. Trump also criticized Democrats’ focus on affordability and said his actions are aimed at fixing those problems; he said he would roll back environmental regulations on large machinery such as tractors to try to lower equipment costs.
Manufacturers have reported tariff-related impacts. John Deere estimated earlier this year that tariffs could cost the company about $600 million in 2025. The one-time USDA payments are intended as temporary relief as the broader effects of the administration’s trade and economic policies play out.