The Trump administration will provide up to $12 billion (A$16.2b) in aid for US farmers to shield them from the repercussions felt by trade spats between the United States and China, the European Union and others.
China has targeted US agricultural exports with tariffs in retaliation to those imposed by US President Donald Trump, because the majority of voters in the farm states voted for him in the 2016 election.
Republican candidates in the upcoming congressional elections in November, however, have expressed deep concern about their states' farm economies.
Trump has been talking for months about finding ways to aid farmers as China, in particular, has cancelled orders for soybeans and other crops.
Sonny Perdue, secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, said the relief package will be financed through the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation and thus will not require congressional approval.
The aid is intended to serve as temporary boost to farmers as the United States and China negotiate over trade issues.
"This obviously is a short-term solution that will give President Trump time to work on a long-term trade policy," Perdue said.
The Commodity Credit Corporation has broad authority to make loans and direct payments to US growers when prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and other agricultural goods are low.
In a speech to in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday, the president aggressively defended his trade policies.
"We have to do it," Trump said, blasting both China and the European Union.
"But it's all working out," he said. Farmers would ultimately benefit from his approach, he pledged.
Later this week, Trump will visit Iowa and Illinois, two other farm-belt states, as he seeks to shore up support for Republican candidates in those regions.
Federal subsidies for farmers, however, are likely to place congressional Republicans, who typically resist large-scale government assistance programs, in a difficult position of supporting the president - a fellow Republican - or distancing themselves.
Some were quick to denounce the proposal.
"This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and the White House's 'plan' is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches," said Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican who frequently criticises the president.
"Tariffs are taxes that punish American consumers and producers," Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul wrote on Twitter. "If tariffs punish farmers, the answer is not welfare for farmers -- the answer is remove the tariffs."
