Washington, Dec 10 (LatestNewsX) – Senator Maria Cantwell slammed President Donald Trump’s latest $12 billion stimulus package for farmers, labeling it a “meager bailout” that will not reverse the damage tariffs have dealt to global trade and to American exporters – especially those who once shipped large volumes of goods to India.
Trump had announced the plan a day earlier, saying he would earmark up to $11 billion for a new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program that would cover producers of soybeans, corn, wheat, lentils, chickpeas and barley. An additional $1 billion was earmarked for specialty crops, though the administration has yet to reveal how or when the funds will be distributed. The payments are slated to reach recipients by February 28, 2026.
The aid will come from the Commodity Credit Corporation and be managed by the Farm Service Agency, according to the USDA. It arrives more than a year after Trump’s first wave of tariffs sparked a flurry of retaliation threats against U.S. goods.
Cantwell slammed the timing and size of the relief, stating that “Washington farmers don’t want a meager bailout; they want to be able to export their goods across the globe.” She warned that “Trump’s tariff chaos is sabotaging decades of hard work winning overseas shelf space.”
She added that the ongoing trade tension threatens major export hubs on the Northwest coast, which move nearly $20 billion in U.S. agricultural goods each year. “Trump’s tariffs continue to harm American consumers, manufacturers and small businesses, who keep paying the costs without relief,” she said.
Specialty crops, which make up more than 30 percent of U.S. agricultural output and include many of Washington state’s top exports, would receive only 8 percent of the aid, according to the release. The group also contains apples, cherries, potatoes and pulse crops – sectors that were heavily hit when India retaliated with tariffs after Trump imposed steel and aluminum duties.
The statement highlighted a steep fall in U.S. apple exports to India: from $120 million in 2017 to less than $1 million by 2023. It credited Cantwell’s “several years” of advocacy for helping persuade India to lift those retaliatory tariffs in September 2023, calling the reversal “welcome news” to more than 1,400 Washington apple growers and tens of thousands of workers.
Cantwell also underscored her bipartisan Trade Review Act, co‑introduced with Senator Chuck Grassley, which seeks to limit a president’s tariff authority and restore congressional oversight. The bill has received support from both parties and major business groups.
The release cited rising consumer prices tied to tariffs, referencing Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis economists who noted higher costs for vehicles, electronics and furniture.
India and the United States have long been in conflict over agricultural trade, with duties on apples, pulses and almonds among the most contentious. India’s removal of its retaliatory tariffs in 2023 marked a rare de‑escalation as both nations attempted to stabilize trade ties.
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