China-US Trade Frictions: US farmers hit by tariffs still awaiting $12 bln in aid Trump promised

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03:01

President Trump promised farmers they'd be the biggest winners of a trade war. And, the Trump Administration has promised BILLIONS in emergency relief to help counter the tariffs. As CGTN's Hendrik Sybrandy explains, it could be several weeks or months before they receive those funds.

It's been a rough year for Marc Arnusch of Prospect Valley, Colorado. Arnusch grows corn as well as wheat and barley. His production is down sharply due to bad weather. Crop prices are down too, due in part to tariffs.

MARC ARNUSCH FARMER "We've overcome a lot. My community has suffered and looks as poor as it's ever looked at least in my recollection."

But help is on the way, or so he and other farmers have been told, in the form of a $12 billion federal aid package that's aimed at easing the effects of the current trade disputes.

ZACH RILEY PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR, COLORADO FARM BUREAU "It's an amazing step in the right direction. It's basically unprecedented."

Zach Riley with the Colorado Farm Bureau says that's the government's role, to be a short-term safety net for the rural economy during turbulent times like these.

SONNY PERDUE US AGRICULTURE SECRETARY "This is a temporary measure. Really a time to give President Trump and his negotiating team to get these trade disputes resolved."

MARC ARNUSCH FARMER "I know I speak for a lot of Colorado farmers when I say we'd rather earn our living through the marketplace than just another handout."

Critics of the plan have called it a pacifier or golden crutch for agricultural producers. But Arnusch won't say no to money that could help him cover his expenses.

MARC ARNUSCH FARMER "This payment to farmers won't just lie in the farmer's pocket. It'll trickle on through to the implement dealer, to the hometown bank, to the grocery store."

HENDRIK SYBRANDY PROSPECT VALLEY, COLORADO "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently estimated it would cost $39 billion, so the $12 billion extended to agriculture, plus another $27 billion, to compensate all U.S. industries affected by the retaliatory tariffs."

The Chamber calls that a slippery and costly slope. Some farmers wonder why other tariff-affected industries aren't getting similar help.

MICHAEL SLATTERY WISCONSIN SOYBEAN FARMER "We look like we're getting a welfare handout, which we are. And they are not. You know that's inequitable."

MARC ARNUSCH FARMER "We don't have the ability to pass on our costs to others. We basically are at the mercy of the market."

Arnusch argues agriculture is also key to U.S. security. He and Riley say much more critical than the aid package is the need for new, updated trade deals with China, Mexico and Canada that reflect farming as it exists today.

ZACH RILEY PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR, COLORADO FARM BUREAU "Are we taking a little longer than what I might like Yeah. I would love to have had this trade negotiation done the first of the year."

MARC ARNUSCH FARMER "We can withstand a little bit of market pressure for this year, maybe even for next, but I would say we need to get this done and we need to get it resolved soon."

As the government has acknowledged, aid payments won't make farmers like Arnusch whole. But it'll help keep his operation humming while politicians work to settle the trade environment. Hendrik Sybrandy, CGTN, Prospect Valley, Colorado.