Billions in subsidies are nowhere to be seen? US Agriculture Secretary: Looking for markets outside China

Since April this year, Trump's excessive tariffs have prompted China to suspend the purchase of American soybeans, causing severe damage to the U.S. agricultural industry. In addition, falling soybean prices and rising costs of machinery, equipment, and fertilizers have placed farmers under multiple pressures.

At the end of September, as the autumn harvest approached, Trump, under pressure, announced a plan to launch an agricultural aid program, intending to use part of the tariff revenue to subsidize affected farmers. Previously, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensons had hinted that a new aid plan would be announced in early October.

However, the billion-dollar agricultural subsidy that Trump's government has been promoting for nearly three weeks ultimately turned out to be just a "big pie" to pacify American soybean farmers.

According to a report by Fox News on the 16th, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rorison said that day at the White House that the government is currently distributing subsidy payments for agricultural losses in 2023 and 2024, and a new special aid plan will not be implemented until the U.S. government ends its shutdown and federal funds resume operations.

Regarding this important measure that affects the livelihoods of more than three million American farmers, she simply explained, "Due to the government shutdown, previous aid programs have been frozen."

Seemingly trying to "save face," Rorison tried to emphasize that the aid program would be implemented after the government resumes operations, and shifted the topic to the Trump administration's efforts to find markets outside of China to help farmers.

In her view, getting American farmers away from dependence on the Chinese market is the so-called long-term solution, and her long-term goal is to open up non-Chinese markets through trade agreements achieved by the Trump administration.

Rorison claimed, "Short-term trade battles are of no benefit to farmers, especially those growing field crops. In the long run, we are opening up new markets to avoid over-reliance on countries like China. You know, they can put us in a difficult situation at any time."

Rorison also said that farmers need markets, not government relief.

"We must get farmers out of the 'cycle of government subsidies' dilemma, and not always rely on one government grant after another," she said, "They don't want these subsidy checks; they want to make a living by selling their own agricultural products."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846242194641159/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."