On May 19, President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture unveiled its so-called “Farmers First” policy initiative with an aggressive marketing campaign. There was a press conference with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, a social media campaign promoting the initiative and a glossy pamphlet proclaiming the hard work and dignity of America’s family farmers.
Five months later, American farmers are experiencing collateral damage in the administration’s global trade war.
The economic situation in the farming countries is becoming increasingly dire. In my home state of Minnesota, soy farmers are buckling under the weight of the president’s tariffs, which have decimated their key export markets. Last month I met with many of them in Lakeville, Minnesota to talk about how tariffs are driving up input costs and putting pressure on their businesses.
President Donald Trump greets Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House, October 14, 2025. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Nationally, farm bankruptcies are up 57% in 2025 compared to 2024. And because 27% of our nation’s farmers and ranchers rely on the Affordable Care Act for health care, too many rural Americans will face skyrocketing health care costs if Republicans allow the ACA tax credits to expire at the end of the year.
TRUMP REACHES FOUR BIG VICTORIES WITH XI, BUT HAS A BIG MISS
As farmers wrap up the harvest season without their previously reliable customers, like China, lining up to buy their produce, you’d think the government might reignite its Farmers First agenda. Instead, President Trump is using his power to boost one of our main competitors in agriculture and kick American farmers while they are in trouble. Enter: his $40 billion taxpayer-funded bailout package for Argentina.
Argentina is the world’s largest soy producer after Brazil and the United States. And since President Trump alienated China—the world’s largest buyer of soybeans—with tariffs, Argentine soy farmers have essentially replaced American farmers.
In October, Argentinian farmers sold 2.5 million tons of soybeans to China – while American soybeans sold virtually zero. In a normal year, China buys more than 50% of soybeans grown in the U.S., generating about $13 billion for U.S. farmers each crop year. That’s $13 billion worth of soybean exports down the drain.
President Trump claims that his recent meeting with his “very, very good friend,” President Xi Jinping of China, who pledged to resume purchases of U.S.-grown soybeans at levels last seen under the Biden administration, is the bright light at the end of a very painful tunnel.
After nearly a year of manufactured crisis in the farm country, the chief dealmaker has received a vague promise from China to return to the status quo. And that’s like the deal manages to migrate from fantasy to reality. China bought none of the $200 billion in additional US exports it promised after striking a “deal” with Trump following his trade war with China during his first administration.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS ADVICE
America’s farmers are struggling, and tariffs are raising the cost of living outside agricultural countries as well. Year after year, food production is increasing by 3%, beef prices are at record highs and coffee, up over 19%, is no longer a cheap caffeine fix.
Despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declaring the bailout “mission critical,” the president has openly admitted that the American people will not benefit from his $40 billion giveaway to Argentina. And we know that American farmers certainly won’t. Perhaps that is why a majority of voters disapprove of the government’s bailout for Argentina.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
In fact, the only people who will benefit from this bailout are President Trump and his ally, Argentine President Javier Milei, whose corrupt policies have pushed Argentina into an economic crisis. Well, and the Wall Street financiers who placed bad bets on its unstable economy.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
And the president is not only saving Argentina’s bankers, but also their agricultural sector. Recently, the president infuriated American ranchers by announcing a plan to quadruple imports of Argentine beef, roiling livestock markets and hitting American ranchers squarely in the pocketbooks after years of drought and declining markets drove them to the brink.
If there is any semblance of truth to “Farmers First” – or “America First” – President Trump should end his affair with Argentina and focus on the Americans who are struggling here at home.
CLICK HERE TO FROM REP. ANGIE CRAIG
