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Trump's Trade War Aid to Farmers Risks Worsening Crop Stockpiles

  • Administration signals aid to be based on current production
  • Aid may skew crop decisions with planting still underway
Sacks of soybeans.

Photographer: Alex Flynn/Bloomberg

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President Donald Trump’s escalation of the trade war with China without a concrete plan to aid farmers could worsen the rising stockpiles of U.S. crops such as soybeans and depress commodity prices even after the current dispute is resolved.

The Trump administration is signaling that the aid package it’s assembling would make payments to farmers based on their current crop production, raising concern among analysts and some lawmakers.