By Susan Heavey and Leah Douglas
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration expects to announce an aid package for U.S. farmers within two weeks and a deal on Chinese soybean purchases, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Monday without providing further details.
The administration of President Donald Trump has said for months that it would issue aid for farmers hit by low crop prices and trade disputes, but has not yet issued any plan or amount for the aid. U.S. farmers lost billions
in soybean sales this year as top buyer China turned to Brazil and Argentina amid tense trade talks with Washington.
"We'll have an announcement probably in the next week or two on what that's going to look like," Rollins, the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told CNBC of the farmer aid.
In October, after Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of American soybeans through January, according to the Trump administration. China purchased nearly 1.6 million metric tons of soybeans over three days last week, its largest single-week tally in two years, buoying crop prices.
Asked about China's commitments to buy U.S. soybeans, Rollins said: "We've got a significant way to go."
"I know they are inking the deal this week or next week," Rollins said, adding that she was confident China would honor its purchase commitments.
"Every sign is their commitment remains true that they will indeed buy, or purchase, 12 million metric tons or put the order in," she said.
"Even if the purchase order comes in before the end of December, those will move early next year," she added.
Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social that he and Xi had discussed soybeans and other farm products in a phone call and that they had "done a good, and very important, deal for our Great Farmers."
The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Jan Harvey and Lisa Shumaker)
