When it decides later this year whether to make a second round of Trump tariff payments, the USDA said on Thursday, it will take into account changes in tariffs, commodity prices, and other market conditions since it announced that $4.7 billion would be split among the producers of seven commodities this fall. Soybean growers will collect the lion’s share of the fall payments: $3.7 billion.
The USDA described its formula for estimating “trade damage” from retaliatory tariffs in a six-page report released at nearly the same time that the agency’s chief economist, Robert Johansson, was answering questions from the Senate Agriculture Committee about the awards. Corn growers and dairy producers have complained of skimpy support — 1 cent per bushel for corn and 1 cent per gallon for milk. Wheat growers say the $119 million allotted for their crop doesn’t reflect market realities.
Johansson said the USDA looked at the amount of each major U.S. commodity that is exported, the amount affected by the trade war, the impact on stockpiles, and the time needed to find alternative markets. For those reasons, he told Sen. Debbie Stabenow, cotton qualified for $277 million despite comparatively strong market prices. China is a major cotton importer, just as it dominates the world soybean market, he said. “We show damages … to be what they are.”
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the report showed the USDA’s willingness to explain its decisions. “Our farmers and ranchers … need to know that USDA was thorough, methodical, and as accurate as possible in making these estimates,” he said.
To read the USDA report, click here.