The Wall Street Journal reports that President Donald Trump will unveil a $12 billion bailout to farmers suffering under his "far-reaching tariffs."
"Much of the aid — $11 billion — will be in the form of one-time payments through the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, which helps U.S. crop farmers," the Journal reports.
"The remaining $1 billion will go toward commodities not covered under the bridge assistance program, the officials said. Bloomberg earlier reported the details of the bailout," they add.
This aid, they report, will be "a shot in the arm to soybean farmers, who have faced devastating financial losses this year."
Under the Trump administration, soybean farmers faced significant financial strain due to a trade war with China that led to a near-total boycott of U.S. soybeans. The administration provided billions in aid to mitigate losses, but many farmers have viewed this as a temporary fix rather than a long-term solution.
"Farmers have said the extra money would help them pay down their debts this year and finance the cost of planting next year’s crop," the Journal explains.
"It has been a challenging year for the American farmer. Crop prices have remained low, especially after harvesting the largest crop on record this fall. In the first half of 2025, farm bankruptcies rose by about 60 percent compared with 2024," they add.
When Trump imposed tariffs on China during his first term, the government sent about $23 billion to farmers to compensate, the Journal says.
"The USDA has estimated that soybean growers accounted for more than 70 percent of the financial losses. Soybean exports returned to normal levels in the following years," they note.
However, "since then, China has been preparing to squeeze American farmers out of its export market and has spent heavily to improve the agriculture supply chain in countries such as Brazil to fill the gap," the Journal explains.