Market News & Headlines >> Trump Says $15 Billion of New Farm Aid Planned

President Trump said on Monday that his administration was planning to provide about $15 billion in new aid to help U.S. farmers whose products may be targeted with tariffs by China amid a deepening trade war. 

"We're going to take the highest year, the biggest purchase that China has ever made with our farmers, which is about $15 billion, and do something reciprocal to our farmers so our farmers can do well," Trump told reporters at the White House, according to Reuters News Service.  The President did not provide any more details on what kind of an aid package it would be. 

"Out of the billions of dollars that we're taking in (in tariffs on Chinese imports), a small portion of that will be going to our farmers, because China will be retaliating, probably to a certain extent, against our farmers," Trump said. 

On Monday, China said it would impose higher tariffs on a range of U.S. goods, including frozen vegetables and liquefied natural gas, striking back in its trade war with Washington after Trump warned it not to. 

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Friday that Trump had asked him to create a plan to help American farmers cope with the heavy impact of the U.S.-China trade war on agriculture. 

A new aid program would be the second round of assistance for farmers, after USDA’s $12 billion plan last year to compensate them for lower prices for farm goods and lost sales stemming from trade disputes with China and other nations.