The same day a trade deal with Mexico was announced, the Trump administration said it will pay subsidies of $8 a hog and $1.65 a bushel for soybeans as trade-action compensation.
The total package is worth about $12 billion and is designed to offset price declines resulting from tariffs imposed by China, Mexico, Canada and others in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum and a long list of items from China.
The question I have for the Trudeau government is "will you impose countervailing duties in response to these subsidies?" Our agriculture industry is being side-swiped.
The pork subsidy is $8 per hog based on 50 per cent of the animals owned as of Aug. 1.
The bulk of the payments, $3.6 billion, is for soybean farmers at $1.65 per bushel multiplied by 50 per cent of expected production, Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey said on a conference call.
China has traditionally bought about 60 per cent of U.S. soybean exports, but has stopped buying after Trump imposed more tariffs on Chinese goods.
“An announcement about further payments will be made in the coming months if warranted,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Other crop payments are 86 cents a bushel for sorghum multiplied by 50 per cent of production, one cent per bushel of corn, 14 cents per bushel of wheat, and six cents per pound of cotton.
The package includes a nearly $559 million purchase of pork for federal nutrition assistance and child nutrition programs, $200 million for developing foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products and some direct payments to farmers, including pork producers.
Applications open Sept. 4.
