Gov. Doug Burgum issued the following statement after today’s announcement by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue of up to $16 billion in programs to assist farmers impacted by trade disruption. In the announcement, Perdue reflected on the previous round of Market Facilitation Program payments and called this plan “even stronger and more effective for farmers.”
“This assistance will benefit North Dakota farmers and ranchers being impacted by unfair retaliatory tariffs, as the administration continues to negotiate long-term trade deals that open up markets and provide a level playing field for American producers to compete,” Burgum said. “We’re grateful to Secretary Perdue, his staff and the administration for providing this temporary support and protecting farmers against China’s unjustified targeting of our ag sector in these trade negotiations.”
In July 2018, USDA announced $12 billion in aid to farmers in the first round of relief intended to mitigate impacts from retaliatory tariffs imposed on American agricultural commodities. Today’s announcement includes $14.5 billion in direct payments to producers under the Market Facilitation Program, administered by the Farm Service Agency. An additional $1.4 billion is available for the Food Purchase and Distribution Program for the purchase of surplus fruits, vegetables, beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and dairy affected by trade retaliation. Finally, the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program received $100 million to develop new export markets for commodity producers.