AGRICULTURE/CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is seeking to blunt domestic opposition to its trade policies with a relief package for farmers affected by the U.S. trade spat with China, say officials involved in the discussions. The aid package, which could climb into the billions of dollars, is still being developed. Agriculture and congressional officials are examining Depression-era programs like the Commodity Credit Corp., which was created in 1933 to stabilize farm incomes, and which permits borrowing of as much as $30 billion from the Treasury to finance its activities. Using the CCC would also give the administration an existing program to tap, rather than having to devise something new that would need to clear Congress. These programs haven’t traditionally been used in trade fights, but Congress has started to clear the way for the CCC to be tapped.”
– Bob Davis, Siobhan Hughes and Jesse Newman, “Trump Looks to Assuage Trade Critics With Farm Package,” The Wall Street Journal, April 11, 2018, 4:40 pm