AGRICULTURE/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration on Tuesday [7-24-18] announced up to $12 billion in emergency relief for farmers hurt by the president’s trade war, moving to to insulate food producers from looming financial losses that would be a direct result of President Trump’s policies. The aid to farmers, announced by the United States Department of Agriculture, will come through a direct assistance program, one designed to help with food purchase and distribution and one specifically geared toward promoting trade. The move is an indication that Mr. Trump — ignoring the concerns of farmers, their representatives in Congress, and even some of his own aides about the adverse consequences of a trade war he says he relishes — plans to plow forward in escalating his tariff tit-for-tat around the world…The approach could cost American producers billions of dollars and potentially inflict political pain on Republicans in farm states who would be forced to answer for the policies of a president who has shown little regard for the consequences of his trade agenda.”
–Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Ana Swanson, “To Ease Pain of Trump’s Trade War: $12 Billion in Aid for Farmers,” The New York Times online, July 24, 2018