The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it will give $12 billion in relief aid to farmers hurt by the newly imposed tariffs.
Neil Walter has been farming in Central Texas since the 1980s.
"Farming is a business, of course. We have to make a living, have to make money, but it's a lifestyle. I enjoy it," Walter said.
Walter said the trade war is a big concern for the agricultural community.
"Sometimes we have to go through hard times to make things better," Walter said. "My analogy is our own bodies, maybe we have aches and pains chronically. And eventually, we have to go through surgery. I think our tariff situation is surgery. It's rough and hard to go through."
He said he hasn't seen any effects from the tariffs yet, but he is grateful for the help.
"The $12 billion that the government is going to help the agriculture community with is sort of like pain medication. It's going to help us through this term that we have to deal with, with the tariffs," Walter said.
Walter said he understands that this is a long process and patience is key.
"We would rather get our money from the market, we're free market folks. However, since we got caught in the crossfire here, agriculture is being used to solve this global trade problem and since we were conscripted into the war, so to speak, I appreciate being protected a bit financially here," Walter said.
Walter farms cotton, which is one of the items the tariffs are affecting. The Texas Farm Bureau said the prices in agriculture have declined since the tariffs were announced, including cotton, which China buys a lot of from the United States.
"Forty-six percent of the cotton [China buys] comes from Texas. And we do grow that around here," Gene Hall, director of communications for the Texas Farm Bureau, said.
Hall said even before the tariffs were announced, farm income has declined over the last five years. So, farmers are feeling the effects of the tariffs.
"We were not equipped to whether the effects of a trade war," Hall said.
Hall said the $12 billion is a short-term solution.
"Farmers and ranchers want to get their income from the marketplace. For that to happen you have to a robust and fair trading system," Hall said. "We believe it's everyone's advantage in this country to get this resolved quickly. The relief package, we're grateful for it. It will be helpful. There's no question about it, but at the end of the day only the resolution of the trade war of this conflict will be the solution."
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