Farmers will need a bailout this year, Thune says

"Congressional Republicans like Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) blasted the idea of helping Argentine farmers while doing nothing for domestic sales. What they're saying: "There are markets right now that aren't open to some of our commodities," Thune said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. "As a consequence of that, there are - we've got a big harvest coming in here in South Dakota, corn and soybeans, and no place to go with it.""

"Thune said the Senate Agriculture Committee, of which he's a member, was already looking at potential solutions to support farmers. "At the end of the day, our farmers are probably going to need some financial assistance this year, and a lot of the revenue coming in off the tariffs is what they would use to provide that." Flashback: The trade war in Trump's first term also ended up requiring a farm bailout, one big enough to absorb almost all the tariff revenue collected."

China stopped buying U.S. soybeans, removing the largest export market for American farmers. The U.S. pledged aid to Argentina, and Argentina began selling discounted soybeans to China. Congressional Republicans criticized providing help to Argentine farmers while U.S. producers lose sales. Senator Thune warned that some commodity markets remain closed, noting a large South Dakota corn and soybean harvest with limited outlets. Thune said farmers will likely need financial assistance and suggested using tariff revenue to fund relief. Trade-war-era bailouts previously consumed most tariff receipts. Current tariff collections exceed $30 billion monthly, but legislative hurdles and no program yet leave aid uncertain.

Read at Axios