A pro-free trade group in the U.S. agriculture industry Thursday issued a statement, posing 10 questions on the Department of Agriculture's 12-billion-U.S.-dollar aid package for a segment of farmers impacted by tariffs.
The statement came ahead of the expected release of the aid guidance document. The package includes both direct payment and other temporary measures for farmers.
After the government announced the measure in July, farmers nationwide expressed their dissatisfaction, citing its lack of operability and vision.
"Since this package was announced last month we've traveled to rural communities across the country to hear directly from farmers. Their reaction to this package has almost uniformly been that they want contracts, not compensation," said Angela Hofmann, deputy director of Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan group.
Hofmann questioned how the aid package would be distributed fairly among farmers suffering from the trade war ignited by the White House.
The statement lists 10 questions directly from farmers, including how individual losses due to tariffs will be calculated, whether some producers will be compensated more than others, and if the aid will address the full range of producers who are being impacted.
The statement also questioned how these payments will correct the underlying uncertainty in the market, how farmers will be compensated for long-term impacts, and how the government will provide reliefs for farmers' rising input costs.
"We continue to believe that the best way to ease the pain farmers are shouldering would be to resolve the trade war and begin work to restore long-term trade relationships. A one-time check won't replace the disappearance of long-term contracts and relationships," the statement concluded.
