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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 Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, a social media campaign promoting the initiative, and a glossy pamphlet trumpeting the hard work and dignity of America’s family farmers.
Five months later, America’s farmers are collateral damage in the administration’s worldwide trade war.
The economic situation in farm country is increasingly dire. In my home state of Minnesota, soybean farmers are buckling under the weight of the president’s tariffs, which have decimated their most important export markets. I sat down with many of them last month in Lakeville, Minnesota, to talk about how tariffs are driving up input costs and putting the squeeze on their operations.
President Donald Trump greets the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, at the White House, Oct. 14, 2025. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Nationally, farm bankruptcies are up 57% in 2025 compared to 2024. And with 27% of our nation’s farmers and ranchers relying on the Affordable Care Act for health coverage, too many rural Americans will face skyrocketing healthcare costs when Republicans let the ACA tax credits expire at the end of the year.
TRUMP SCORES FOUR BIG WINS WITH XI, BUT HAS ONE BIG MISS
While farmers wind down the harvest season without their previously reliable customers, like China, lined up to buy their product, you’d think the administration might reignite its "Farmers First" agenda. Instead, President Trump is using his power to boost one of our top agricultural competitors and kick American farmers while they’re down. Enter: his $40 billion taxpayer-funded bailout to Argentina.
Argentina is the third-largest soybean producer in the world after Brazil and the United States. And since President Trump alienated China – the world’s largest buyer of soybeans – with tariffs, Argentine soybean farmers have effectively replaced American farmers.
In October, Argentine farmers sold 2.5 million metric tons of soybeans to China – while American soybean farmers sold basically zero. In a typical year, China buys over 50% of U.S.-grown soybeans, generating around $13 billion for U.S. farmers each crop year. That’s $13 billion worth of soybean exports down the drain.
President Trump is claiming 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 farm country, the dealmaker-in-chief has secured a vague promise from China to return to the status quo. And that is if the deal manages to migrate from fantasy to reality. China bought none of the $200 billion in extra U.S. exports that it promised after striking a "deal" with Trump following his trade war with China during his first administration.
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America’s farmers are hurting, and tariffs are hiking the cost of living beyond farm country, too. Year to year, food is up 3%, beef prices are at record highs, and coffee, with an increase of 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 American farmers certainly won’t. Maybe that’s why a majority of voters disapprove of the administration’s Argentina bailout.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 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 politics have driven Argentina into an economic crisis. Well, and the Wall Street financiers who placed bad bets on his unstable economy.
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And the president isn’t just bailing out Argentina’s bankers – he’s bailing out their farm sector, too. Recently, the president outraged American ranchers by announcing a plan to quadruple Argentine beef imports – throwing cattle markets into turmoil and hitting U.S. cattlemen squarely in the pocketbook after years of drought and down markets pushed them to the brink.
If there is any semblance of truth to "Farmers First" – or "America First," for that matter – President Trump should end his affair with Argentina and focus on the Americans struggling here at home.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM REP. ANGIE CRAIG
Democrat Angie Craig represents Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and is the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.
