AGRICULTURE/CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration on Thursday [7-25-19] unveiled details of a $16 billion aid package to help farmers hurt by President Trump’s trade war with China, as soybean growers from around the country converged on Washington to tell lawmakers that rural America is ready for a cease-fire. Farmers have been among the biggest casualties of the trade fight, with Beijing slowing — and in some cases ending — purchases of American agricultural goods as retaliation for Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports. They have also suffered from retaliatory tariffs that the European Union, Canada and Mexico placed on American farm goods after Mr. Trump slapped levies on foreign metals. The Agriculture Department said that the payments to farmers, which were first announced in May, would be made in three tranches in the next six months. The subsidies come as American negotiators head to China next week to resume trade talks with Beijing, which collapsed in May after Mr. Trump accused China of reneging on a trade deal.”
–Alan Rappeport, “U.S. Rolls Out More Farm Aid as Soy Growers Urge Trade Cease-Fire,” The New York Times online, July 25, 2019