America's farmers are "one of the casualties" in President Donald Trump's trade war with China, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says in an interview airing Tuesday, but he does believe a deal will be reached with China by year's end.
"We knew going in that when you flew the penalty flag on China, the retaliation, if it came, would be against the farmer," Perdue told CNN. "I've told the President — and the President understands — you can't pay the bills with patriotism. We know that, and certainly, he knows that. That's why he's trying to supplement the damage they're having from trade disruptions with market facilitation."
Private buyers in China have mostly stopped buying American-grown soybeans or wheat because of the tariffs China imposed in retaliation to Trump's tariffs. The administration has pledged $28 billion in aid, which will mainly go to farmers hurt by the tariffs.
The aid was announced in May, with payments going out this summer, but Perdue said he would not promise anything for 2020.
Trump is expected to meet with China President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka, which starts Thursday, and Perdue said that he doesn't really expect a deal this week, he is optimistic that with the relationship between the two leaders a deal could come by the end of the year.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.