'Is this sustainable?’: Farmers say bailouts aren’t enough in Trump’s trade war

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Thursday that it would provide an additional $16 billion to help farmers as the trade war between the U.S. and China carries on and tariffs stay in place.

Tyler Stafslien, a North-Dakota based farmer, described the impending aid package as “certainly needed,” but questioned how long this could go on.

“I would prefer we had the trade we used to have with China,” he told Yahoo Finance. “I don’t want to have to rely on the federal government to be able to survive out here as a farmer. My fear is there will be another payment here, but is this sustainable? At what point will the federal government stop paying farmers? Will we have the trade deal in place at that point to pick up where the federal government leaves off? I don’t know.”

President Donald Trump hold up hats that read "Make Our Farmers Great Again!" as he walks across the South Lawn before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington. (Photo: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Iowa Soybean Association President Lindsay Greiner, a soybean farmer, released a statement on behalf of his organization, expressing similar concerns.

“Short-term, stair-stepped subsidies are a poor remedy for trade,” he said. “They stimulate production but not sales and therefore do little to undo the long-term log jam caused by not selling soybeans to destinations like China, the world’s no. 1 customer.”

“Farmers have been reassured time and time again over the past year that results will be achieved, and agreements made with key trading partners. Yet it’s been all talk, and no action. It’s well past time for Congress and the Administration to put aside partisan differences, break the policy gridlock and get to work on issues that truly matter for the American people.”

This isn’t the first time that the government has stepped in to help farmers while the country engages in a trade war with China. In 2018, the Trump administration authorized a bailout program, which entailed two rounds of payments doled out to farmers to offset the effects of tariffs. By February 2019, it had reached $7.7 billion in aid.

After the most recent announcement, Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst said in a statement: “The program, following a spring of historic flooding, delayed planting and depressed prices, will give many farmers the opportunity to farm another year. Although every farmer would rather receive income through a well-functioning market than through government subsidies, the payment will make a positive difference for Missouri agriculture.”

During the previous round of payments, Hurst told Yahoo Finance that while the aid was appreciated, “it’s not enough in the sense that it no way makes us whole for what we suffered from these trade disputes.”