The White House is delaying a second round of payments from a $12 billion aid package for farmers stung by a trade dispute between China and the United States, amid optimism China will soon resume buying U.S. soybeans, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget at the White House is holding up approval of the payments due to concern over the cost of the program, and wants to see if the trade issues with China get resolved. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in July had authorized up to $12 billion in aid for farmers and ranchers hit by the fallout from Trump’s escalating trade war with China, a major buyer of American agricultural products, and the agency outlined payments for the first half last August. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Dec. 3 that OMB was deliberating on a second round of trade aid, and that it could be outlined by the end of that week. USDA spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Reuters on Tuesday the agency was still in the “final stages” of the process of approving the second tranche of payments.
