On December 8, US President Trump announced at the White House that the federal government will launch a $12 billion agricultural relief plan to mitigate the negative impact of domestic tariff policies on the agricultural sector. It is reported that a series of previous tariff adjustments in the US have hindered the export of some agricultural products and caused price fluctuations, putting continuous operational pressure on farmers. The relief funds will be used to subsidize affected farmers, stabilize the agricultural product storage and logistics system, and expand new export channels.

Prior to the launch of this relief plan, relevant supporting integrity measures were implemented in advance. US Treasury Secretary Bezos revealed on December 7 that he had proactively divested his agricultural assets to comply with the code of ethics signed upon taking office, avoiding conflicts of interest between official duties and agricultural operations. This series of actions has been interpreted as the US government’s attempt to balance trade policies and agricultural interests, and resolve internal economic contradictions.

Notably, the Federal Reserve is holding its December monetary policy meeting when the plan was announced. The market generally expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again. If implemented, this will reduce agricultural loan costs and form policy synergy with the relief plan. However, some analysts point out that relief can only alleviate the pain in the short term. In the long run, the uncertainty of tariff policies will still affect the stability of the agricultural industry chain. The US agricultural sector needs to reduce its dependence on a single market through diversified trade layouts.