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Perdue told CNN he did not expect a trade deal to be reached
when Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month at
the G20 summit in Japan but hopes one can be struck by the end
of the year.
The Trump administration has designated aid for farmers, a key
constituency that helped carry the Republican to his 2016
electoral win, but they still have been among the hardest hit
from the trade dispute with China.
"I think they are one of the casualties with trade disruption,
yes," Perdue told CNN. "We knew going in that when you flew the
penalty flag on China, the retaliation, if it came, would be
against the farmer.
"I've told the president - and the president understands - you
can't pay the bills with patriotism," Perdue told CNN. "We know
that and certainly he knows that. That's why he's trying to
supplement the damage they're having from trade disruptions with
market facilitation."
The Trump administration last month unveiled a $16 billion aid
package for farmers to offset losses from the 10-month trade war
with China. Payment rates to farmers would be determined by
where they farm rather than what crops they grow.
The trade dispute, which escalated this month after Washington
and Beijing raised tariffs on imports of each other’s goods, has
left U.S. farmers sitting on record volumes of soybeans with
China halting purchases. China once was a destination for more
than 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill
Trott)
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