Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 5/13/19

After ratcheting up tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods on Friday, President Donald Trump and his administration are trying to assure farmers and ranchers they will get help when Beijing retaliates. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tweeted that USDA would "work on a plan quickly," promising the president "loves his farmers and will not let them down!"

What's in the works? The president indicated his administration might buy up more U.S. farm goods — potentially $15 billion — and ship the commodities to needy countries. But that idea could take months to implement, offer little relief for farmers and sow even more chaos in world markets,writes Pro Trade's Adam Behsudi.

It's unlikely food aid programs could absorb enough commodities to meaningfully reduce the swollen stockpiles and thus raise crop prices to help farmers, said former USDA chief economist Joe Glauber, now a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Big picture: As tension with China rises and the new North American trade pact faces major opposition in Congress, Trump's overall trade agenda is on the verge of imploding. The president is hurtling toward his 2020 reelection bid with little to show for his trade promises other than frustrated farmers and a turbulent stock market, writes Pro Trade's Doug Palmer.