Trump Eyes ‘$10 Billion Bailout’ For Farmers Hurt By Tariffs

Marine One carrying President Donald Trump departs the White House, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump is reportedly considering giving American farmers a $10 billion bailout as the industry continues to be hurt by tariffs.

According to a Thursday afternoon report from The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is mulling over the idea of “using tariff revenue to fund much of the aid.” Farmers have seen a dramatic decrease in sales after China — amid its ongoing trade war with the United States — decided to all but end purchases of American soybeans.

The report continued:

A senior administration official said the discussions have centered on $10 billion to $14 billion in aid. The aid likely would go toward helping soybean producers, as well as other parts of the farm economy.

The official stressed that the deliberations were ongoing and that nothing had been definitively settled. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump said earlier this week that he planned to push Chinese leader Xi Jinping to buy U.S. soybeans to help struggling American farmers. The two leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of a summit in South Korea in the coming weeks. A deal with China to buy soybeans could change Trump’s calculation about providing aid to farmers, the official said.

Trump hinted at the bailout last week during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

A Sept. 11 report from WSJ revealed that China had purchased just 200 million bushels of soybeans from the U.S. between January and August 2025. That’s almost an 80% decrease from the nearly 1 billion bushels bought by the Chinese in the same period last year.