Senators urge USDA to stop Trump farm bailout money from going to foreign-owned companies

WASHINGTON - A group of senators is urging Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to ensure a bailout program intended to help American farmers weather President Donald Trump's trade war does not benefit foreign-owned companies.

Trump's bailout program, which buys surplus commodities from farmers and ranchers, was pitched as a way to protect farmers during the nation's trade war with China. But the USDA hasn't turned away foreign-owned corporations that want in. Earlier this year, taxpayer money was used to buy $5 million in pork products from a Brazilian-owned meatpacking firm. A Chinese-owned pork product also was slated to profit from bailout money until the contract provoked intense criticism and was eventually canceled.

"It is unacceptable that American taxpayers have been subsidizing our competitors through trade assistance," according to a letter addressed to Perdue and signed by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and eight other Democratic lawmakers. "We ask that you ensure these commodity purchases are carried out in a manner that most benefits the American farmer's bottom line - not the business interests of foreign corporations."

As part of Trump's $12 billion bailout program announced last year, the administration set aside $1.2 billion to buy surplus products from farmers, including more than $500 million from pork producers. Last week, the administration announced an additional $16 billion bailout that includes $1.4 billion in commodity purchase relief for farmers.

The letter's signatories include Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

The senators pointed to what they called "lucrative" contracts that benefit foreign-owned entities and direct taxpayer money abroad. Those contracts include $62.5 million in pork products from JBS USA, which is owned by the Brazil-based JBS SA. The food purchase program also was slated to buy $240,000 in pork products from Smithfield Foods, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese-owned WH Group. Smithfield later asked that the contract to be canceled amid a political backlash. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a farmer and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was among those who expressed alarm that a foreign-owned company like WH Group could benefit from the bailout.

"Whether it's the WH Group, which is closely tied to the Chinese government, or JBS SA, which is benefiting from the U.S's loss of market share in certain countries, it is counterproductive and contradictory for these companies to receive assistance paid for with U.S. taxpayer dollars intended to help American farmers struggling with this Administration's trade policy," the senators wrote.

The Agricultural Marketing Service, which administers the purchase program, has said it would buy only products that are "100 [percent] American produced."

"USDA only buys American commodities, produced on American farms by American farmers," a USDA spokesperson previously told The Post in an email. "Approved vendors who choose to participate in USDA food purchasing programs, regardless of their business structure or domicile, provide direct benefits to U.S. farmers and ranchers."

In January, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said she would introduce the Buy American Agriculture Act, which would require the Agricultural Marketing Service to only buy food products from American companies. The legislation would also push for added transparency by requiring the agency to disclose why companies were awarded contracts.

"We were led to believe this program would assist producers impacted by low crop prices, not line the pockets of foreign companies who already report millions of dollars in annual profits," DeLauro in a statement at the time. "The Buy American Agriculture Act would close that loophole and ensure that money spent by USDA on food purchases rightly prioritizes America's farmers and American businesses."