As Deals Advance, Farmers May Not Need Tariff Bailouts, Agriculture Secretary Hopes

As deals advance with foreign countries, farmers may not need bailouts from tariffs, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told The Daily Signal.

Rollins hopes deals will be “struck pretty quickly” with foreign countries facing Trump administration tariffs so bailouts to farmers will be unnecessary. 

“The economy has already begun to realign around putting America first, so that’s the goal,” Rollins said. “But if the assistance is needed, similar to what [former Agriculture] Secretary [Sonny] Perdue and President Trump did in the first term, we’re already getting ready for that.”

“So if we need to move quickly, we can,” Rollins continued, “but we just won’t know a number, because we just don’t know what the potential economic consequences could be until really harvest comes, which will be later this summer.”

The Department of Agriculture’s five-point plan to lower egg prices “seems to be working,” Rollins said.

The plan includes bringing more hens in to repopulate flocks; removing red tape to help the industry grow; considering temporary egg imports; testing vaccines that protect chickens; and helping farmers prevent the bird flu.

The Daily Signal asked Rollins about a plan Trump floated in an April 11 Cabinet meeting of allowing illegal immigrant farm workers to leave the country then get a visa to return legally to work.

“The president at his Cabinet meeting, the one about a week and a half ago, brought that up, and he really fully understands and realizes that our dairy producers, our row croppers, our citrus producers, they have to have labor to be able to feed America, and food security, and America is national security, so it’s incredibly encouraging,” Rollins said. “He realizes that, but at the same time realizing that you have to secure the border, you’ve got to have an immigration system in place that makes sense for America and puts America first.”

“So I believe it will be soon,” she added, “but we’re working through all the details.”

Rollins enjoyed interacting with egg farmers on Monday who donated 30,000 eggs to the annual  White House Easter Egg Roll, she said.

“We have so many egg farmers who are there who are sort of showing the world that their trade and how they feed the world and how important eggs are to a good, nutritious diet,” she told The Daily Signal.

“So we’re going to keep fighting for all of our farmers and all of our ranchers and all of our egg producers,” Rollins continued. “We’re going to bring up, hopefully, an impressive level of prosperity to rural America, where all our farmers and ranchers reside.”