President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion bailout for American farmers on Dec. 8, as Trump’s tariff policies have significantly impacted the agriculture industry, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report.
A similar announcement was expected in early October, but it did not materialize.
Agriculture is the state’s No. 1 industry, generating $111.1 billion in annual revenue. As the Carolina Journal has reported over the past six months, the tariffs have had a significant impact on North Carolina farmers, particularly those producing tobacco, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, some of the state’s largest agricultural commodities.
The majority of the bailout, $11 billion, is expected to come in one-time payments through the US Department of Agriculture’s newly created Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, which is designed to assist crop farmers. The remaining $1 billion is for commodities not covered under the bridge assistance program, WSJ’s report said.
The bridge payments are partially intended to aid farmers until historic investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes reference prices set to increase between 10% and 21% for major covered commodities, including soybeans, corn, and wheat.
Payments for the FBA program will be released to qualifying farmers by Feb. 28, 2026. Eligible farmers should ensure that their 2025 acreage reporting is accurate and factual by 5 pm ET on Dec. 19.
From tariffs to Hurricane Helene, North Carolina farmers have been hit from all sides. Soybean farmers have been hit especially hard, after seeing their exports to China cut and eventually being boycotted by China in response to Trump’s tariffs.
“This $12 billion bailout is more damage control than some act of generosity. Trump is not a hero for giving farmers back the money his own trade policies cost them,” Kelly Lester, policy analyst at the Center for Food Power and Life, at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “Bailouts can help in the short run, but what farmers in North Carolina need is stable, reliable access to overseas customers. If agriculture is going to thrive, we need long-term trade policies that foster demand instead of undermining it.”
As part of a recent trade deal, China has committed to returning to “regular levels” of imports of US soybeans over the next three years, according to an Axios report. Experts have expressed concerns over the stability of the trade deal. Despite the trade deal, China continued to increase its exports to Brazil, as Brazil lowered its soybean prices in response to the trade agreement.
China is the top buyer of US soybeans, accounting for 48% of US soybean exports. In 2022, North Carolina exported $446 million in soybeans, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
“We are certainly very appreciative that more federal aid is coming for farmers. The farm economy is in the tank, especially for our major commodities, and we still don’t have a Farm Bill. So everything that can be done needs to be done,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler told the Carolina Journal.
Troxler added that he spoke with a cotton farmer who was harvesting one of the best crops he had ever harvested but was losing $700 an acre due to tariff repercussions.
According to a WSJ report, this $12 billion bailout is slightly more than half of the $23 billion in bailouts farmers received due to tariffs during Trump’s first term.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.