The U.S. government will make a second, multibillion dollar payment to U.S. farmers struggling against tariffs on American soybeans, pork and dairy products, the Wall Street Journal reported. The move soothed nerves in the U.S. Farm Belt, after some farmers wondered whether the payments would come as trade relations improved between the U.S. and top food-importing countries Mexico and China. Despite a new North American free trade deal signed in November and this month’s trade truce between the U.S. and China, farmers and livestock producers continue to face low prices for many of their goods, pushed down by tariffs that remain in effect. "This assistance will help with short-term cash flow issues as we move into the new year,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. However, Perdue also called it the “final” round of trade-related government payments to farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated yesterday that both rounds of payments would direct a total of $9.6 billion to farmers hit by tariffs on everything from pork chops to soybeans and cheese.
