Perdue says farmers shouldn't expect more trade aid, but top House Ag Committee Republican says it may be needed

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told members of the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn't expect to provide another round of bailout payments for farmers hurt by the Trump administration's trade war with China. But Mike Conaway, R-Texas, the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, said more might be necessary, Mike Dorning reports for Bloomberg. "Unless something gives here very soon," another round of trade aid will be "absolutely vital to the survival of our producers," Conway said.

Perdue's testimony "comes after President Trump suggested last month on Twitter that payouts could continue as farmers wait for trade deals to reap benefits," Andrea Noble reports for Route Fifty. "The agriculture secretary said he would advise against such subsidies, and he did not believe the president would issue any additional payments unless recently inked agreements fail to boost agriculture exports as intended." Perdue said that Trump would support more payments if necessary, but said farmers shouldn't expect more.

The federal government has paid farmers $28 billion in trade aid since 2018, but Perdue has repeatedly said that no more aid should be necessary this year, even as his agency's economists remain concerned that China will not be able to uphold its end of the recently signed Phase I trade deal. "The USDA projected this month that China will purchase about $14 billion in agricultural exports in 2020 from U.S. farmers—far short of the $40 billion in goods China has committed to purchase," Noble reports.

House Agriculture Committee chair Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said Trump's talk of a third trade aid package "makes me wonder what’s going on with these trade deals," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture.