Bessent expects soybean aid Tuesday

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects the Trump administration make an announcement on Tuesday about aid to soybean farmers suffering from a lack of sales to China. 

“It’s unfortunate that Chinese leadership has decided to use the American farmers, soybean farmers in particular, as a hostage or pawn in the trade negotiations,” Bessent said in an interview Thursday on CNBC.

Bessent said he spoke with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday about some type of support for farmers, DTN/Progressive Farmer noted in an analysis. 

“You should expect some news on Tuesday (Oct. 7) on substantial support for our farmers, especially soybean farmers. They have had President Trump’s back and we have their back,” Bessent said.

Separately, in a story for its subscribers, The Wall Street Journal said Trump is considering $10 billion in aid. 

Trump has said he would use tariff revenue for the aid, but just how the aid would be structured is unclear. 

Thursday on Fox Business News, Rolllins mentioned the China situation briefly as she discussed the government shutdown.