Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURRE, 12/14/18

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is heading to the White House to talk with President Donald Trump about the second wave of trade assistance for farmers.

Perdue had previously said an announcement would be made around Dec. 3, but that date came and went — at first delayed as Washington operations paused to honor the passing of George H.W. Bush. But now the delay is about money, Mulvaney, and a Chinese soybean purchase this week that offered a sign the U.S. and Beijing could be starting to make further progress amid the short-term trade truce, Pro Ag's Ryan McCrimmon reports.

"OMB and Director Mulvaney, as always, are looking to hold on to money," Perdue told POLITICO on Thursday. "I understand that. I think this is a commitment that the president made. ... We hope to have it resolved very soon."

House Agriculture ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), during a KFGO radio interview, mentioned that Perdue, Mulvaney and Trump were set to meet. OMB did not respond to requests for comment.

China's purchase of U.S. soybeans, an early gain from the ceasefire Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached at the G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires two weeks ago, has raised questions about whether another round of trade aid — potentially amounting to about $6 billion — is necessary.

Perdue, during an event at USDA on Thursday, told reporters the development is promising, but ag is still being hit by retaliatory duties imposed by China, Canada and Mexico.

The Trump administration has allocated up to $12 billion in trade assistance for farmers and ranchers. In August, USDA deployed half of that, about $4.7 billion of which went toward direct payments to those producing soybeans, pork, dairy products and other commodities.

About that soybean buy: USDA confirmed that China purchased 1.13 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans this week. That represents a fraction of the total soybeans typically sold to China in a normal year, POLITICO's Megan Cassella reports. U.S. exports are down about 91 percent compared with the same time last year.