More than 9,000 people living in the largest U.S. cities received thousands of dollars in Trump tariff payments intended to mitigate the impact of the trade war on U.S. agriculture, said the Environmental Working Group on Thursday. Based on its analysis of USDA records, the environmental group said that “many recipients live not in farm country but in the nation’s 50 largest cities or in other decidedly non-rural locations.”
According to the EWG, “Recipients include 70 residents of San Francisco, 65 residents of New York City, 63 residents of Los Angeles, 61 residents of Washington, and 19 residents of Miami.” Among the Washington recipients was a sugar lobbyist with a farm in Iowa.
The EWG based its report on $8.4 billion of Market Facilitation Program payments through April that applied to 2018 production. A new round of payments, for this year’s production, is under way, with up to $7.25 billion to be disbursed. The EWG referred to urban residents receiving farm supports as “city slickers.”
People are eligible for payments if they provide land, capital, or equipment for farming and perform labor or make management decisions. Urban recipients can include members of farm families, landowners, and investors. Reformers say it is easy to abuse the rule, particularly by claiming to be a manager.