Trump Explores Bailout of at Least $10 Billion for U.S. Farmers
Farmers are harvesting one of the largest crops in history, while China holds off on buying U.S. soybeans
Oct. 2, 2025 The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—President Trump is considering providing $10 billion or more in aid to U.S. farmers as the agriculture sector warns of economic fallout from his far-reaching tariffs, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The president and his team are weighing using tariff revenue to fund much of the aid, the people said, adding that distribution of the money could start in the coming months. A senior administration official said the discussions have centered on $10 billion to $14 billion in aid. The aid likely would go toward helping soybean producers, as well as other parts of the farm economy.
The official stressed that the deliberations were ongoing and that nothing had been definitively settled.
“President Trump and Secretary Rollins are always in touch about the needs of our farmers, who played a crucial role in the President’s November victory,” said Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, referring to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. “He has made clear his intention to use tariff revenue to help our agricultural sector, but no final decisions on the contours of this plan have been made,” she added.
Trump said earlier this week that he planned to push Chinese leader Xi Jinping to buy U.S. soybeans to help struggling American farmers. The two leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of a summit in South Korea in the coming weeks. A deal with China to buy soybeans could change Trump’s calculation about providing aid to farmers, the official said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC that the administration could announce new support for farmers on Tuesday. But that timeline could slip, the official said, noting that the government shutdown might complicate those plans.
American farmers are harvesting one of the largest crops in history, fueling a glut that is driving down prices for corn and soybeans. Rising costs for equipment, fertilizer and other materials are also crimping profits. U.S. soybean farmers are estimated to lose roughly $100 an acre this year, according to federal data.
Chris Swanson finished harvesting 1,500 acres of soybeans on his 7,000-acre farm in northwest Iowa in recent days. He expects to sell his bean crop at about $9.50 a bushel. “It’s piss poor prices, but not a bad yield,” he said.
Farmers such as Swanson have been cutting back on fertilizer and equipment purchases in recent years as profits fall from years of bumper crops. Last year’s $10 billion in aid to farmers helped him offset some of his losses. If a new bailout comes, he expects farmers will spend it immediately to catch up on purchases they have been neglecting.
“I think that money would be out of our hands pretty quickly,” he said.
From January through August of this year, U.S. soybean exports to China totaled just over 200 million bushels, down from almost one billion bushels during the same period in 2024, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Meanwhile, Brazil has shipped more than two billion bushels of soybeans to China during that time.
Members of Congress have pushed the administration to help farmers who harvest commodities such as rice, soybeans and sorghum. Rollins has been traveling the world, working to find countries to buy American products to fill the gap left by China.
“Right now things are very difficult, especially for our bean farmers,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.). “This is going to be solved by trade and finding markets in countries that aren’t actively plotting to destroy the United States.”
When Trump placed tariffs on China during his first term, Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans plummeted, devastating farmers’ balance sheets. The U.S. Agriculture Department has estimated that soybean growers accounted for more than 70% of the financial losses incurred by farmers during Trump’s first trade war.
The government sent about $23 billion to farmers to compensate. While soybean exports recovered in the following years, China has been squeezing American farmers out and has spent heavily to improve the agriculture supply chain in South American countries such as Brazil to fill the gap.
The Republican tax-and-spending bill passed earlier this year took money from the Commodity Credit Corporation, which Trump used to bail out farmers in his first term, making it unavailable to use this year.
Farmer trade groups are pressing the administration and lawmakers to help find new export markets for their crops and expand the amount of soybean oil blended in diesel. Farmers want the agriculture industry to find more domestic uses of soybeans rather than rely on trading with China.
Soybean futures prices have been hovering around $10 per bushel, down nearly 5% over the past 12 months. But the cash price farmers receive for their crops when they are delivered is about $2 lower in states such as North Dakota and Minnesota, which typically ship soybeans to China.
The U.S. collected $149.2 billion in customs duties during the first eight months of the year, according to the Treasury Department, a record driven in large part by Trump’s tariffs.
Write to Brian Schwartz at brian.schwartz@wsj.com, Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com and Natalie Andrews at natalie.andrews@wsj.com