US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue said US farmers are “victims” of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

Such recognition was made by the minister during his CNN interview on Tuesday, June 25.

The minister also said that he did not hope to conclude a trade agreement with China during the meeting of Donald Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this month at the G20 summit in Japan, but he hoped that it would be possible to reach an agreement by the end of the year.

“I think they (the farmers) are some of the victims of trade cuts. We knew that the retaliatory strike would be against the farmer, ”said Sonny Purdue.

“I told the president - and the president understands this - you cannot pay bills with patriotism. We know that, and of course he knows that. That's why he is trying to make up for the damage they get from trade disruptions by simplifying the market, ”said the US Secretary of Agriculture.

The Trump administration last month presented a $ 16 billion aid package to farmers to offset the losses from a 10-month trade war with China. Rates of payments to farmers will depend on where they work, and not on what crops they grow.

A trade dispute that escalated this month after Washington and Beijing raised tariffs on imports of each other's goods forced American farmers to sit at record soybeans due to China's suspension of purchases. China used to be a buyer of over 60 percent of US soybean exports.