Everything Trump Touches Dies is the name of a book by the Republican political strategist Rick Wilson. That appears to be even more appropriate when people look at what Donald Trump’s tariffs have done to soybean farmers. Their crops have literally exploded after they were left in storage too long and fermented. Now, the barges that carry their crops down the rivers are stranded, due to flooding. It gets worse.
Donald Trump told the American farmers that they would be getting a second bailout of $16 billion dollars. These were among his base voters, and they have been very unhappy with the president. According to Bipartisan Report:
‘It seems, the commander-in-chief diverted $62.4 million meant for American farmers to a corrupt Brazilian meat-packing company. Trump set aside millions of dollars to help farmers on the verge of bankruptcy caused by his own ill-considered tariffs on China. He ruined American farmers’ markets, and many of them may lose 4th and 5th generation land.’
This is how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) allocated payments:
‘The Department of Agriculture sent the money in three payments to the largest meat-packing company in the world JBS, which is owned by two corrupt Brazilian brothers. The administration sent out the last $14.5 installment this month. This huge meatpacking company has a subsidiary based in Colorado.’
The president said, according to C-SPAN:
‘The $16 billion in funds will help keep our cherished farms thriving and make clear that no country has a veto on America’s economic and national security. We will ensure that our farmers get the relief they need and very, very quickly.’
The Democrats have been pushing Trump to have JBS USA return the money it received from the USDA. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) wrote in her letter to Trump:
‘Allowing taxpayer funds to support foreign agricultural companies, particularly corrupt foreign companies, at a time when farmers in Wisconsin and across the country are suffering from pain caused by your trade wars is outrageous. I’m calling on you to explain how you allowed this to happen.’
JBS USA released a statement to The Hill, which said that it had 62,000 workers in 28 states and Puerto Rico:
‘Our sole intent for participating is to support U.S. producer prices and help our American producer partners. We operate U.S. pork plants, processing American hogs raised by U.S. farmers – the true program beneficiaries.’
Court records obtained by The Hill have shown that the Batistas have bribed
…thousands of Brazilian officials and are facing accusations of insider trading and lying to prosecutors. The Justice Department is also investigating the Batistas for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.’
Senator Richard Blumenthal sent Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue a letter last week stating:
‘It is simply unconscionable that corrupt foreign-owned companies like JBS currently qualify for assistance under the USDA’s vendor criteria.’
The ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) issued a statement that said the handout to JBS was “alarming.” After all, American soybean farmers have been unable to get their soybean crops on the market, while Brazilian soybean farmers have rushed in to take up their slack. Stabenow wrote:
‘This adds insult to injury. We need a focused trade strategy to protect our farmers, businesses, and consumers.’
Perdue did not take the lawmakers’ concerns seriously. He claimed that the USDA help to the Batistas was no big deal:
‘These are legal companies operating in the United States. This is no different than people buying Volkswagens or other foreign autos where their executives may have been guilty of some issue along the way. This helps US Farmers by supporting prices.’
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a new bill. It would guarantee that “USDA payout to U.S.-owned firms.” She told The Daily News that Trump and his people definitely should have more oversight.
‘Their incompetence and lack of transparency has shown that they cannot be trusted to get this right.’
