In a scathing editorial published Sunday, the Southern California News Group (SCNG) characterized former President Donald Trump’s trade policies as economically disastrous, citing his administration’s $12 billion agricultural bailout as evidence of fundamental policy failure.
The editorial board’s piece, titled “$12 billion payout to farmers is a tariff-based disaster,” presented a rigorous critique of protectionist trade measures, arguing they function as hidden taxes on American consumers. The analysis challenged the rationale behind the substantial financial relief package for farmers, framing it as an admission that tariff wars inevitably harm domestic industries.
Citing economic expert Jay Shambaugh of the Brookings Institution, the editorial warned that such trade conflicts would inflict multidimensional damage—harming consumers, undermining productive enterprises, slowing economic growth, and weakening international relationships. The piece particularly emphasized how previously stable agricultural exports, especially soybeans and other row crops, faced sudden market disruption due to retaliatory tariffs from trading partners.
The criticism extended beyond crop growers to agricultural machinery manufacturers, noting that industry giant John Deere anticipated $600 million in losses for 2025 directly attributable to tariff policies. This comprehensive assessment portrayed the bailout as an inadequate solution to problems created by the administration’s own trade strategy.
The Southern California News Group, representing 11 daily publications across five counties in the greater Los Angeles region, positioned its editorial as a substantive challenge to protectionist economic theory in an era of globalized commerce.