U.S.–China Trade

President Trump on Monday unveiled a $12 billion one‑time farm aid package — funded through the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation — that administration officials say directs roughly $11 billion through a new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program for row‑crop producers and about $1 billion for farmers whose crops do not qualify, announced at a White House roundtable with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The White House says payments should reach farmers’ bank accounts in late February, but farm groups and Black farmers warn the timing and size are insufficient to avert immediate loan and cash‑flow crises tied to tariff disruptions, even as the administration cites tariff revenue and recent China purchase pledges as enabling the relief.

China’s customs agency said Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, that its annual trade surplus has surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, as November exports rose 5.9% year over year even while shipments to the United States plunged nearly 29% under U.S. tariffs. The report notes U.S. import taxes on Chinese goods peaked at 145% this spring and have been reduced to 47.5%, and that China has redirected exports to Europe, Africa, Latin America and the rest of Asia.