New USDA trade aid package to include direct payments, purchases

The Trump administration's new $16 billion trade mitigation package will, like last year's program, include direct payments to farmers, purchases of excess commodities and agricultural trade promotion efforts, the Agriculture Department said on Thursday. Unlike those stemming from the $12 billion package set up last year, however, the direct payments will be based on rates calculated by county, not by commodity. USDA officials would not say what the range of prices would be. The majority of the funds, $14.5 billion,...