WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has to date paid out $8.52 billion in direct payments to American farmers as part of the 2018 aid program, designed to offset losses from trade tariffs by China and other trading partners, a spokesman for the agency said.

The Trump administration has pledged up to $12 billion in aid to help offset losses for crops hit by Chinese tariffs imposed in response to Washington’s tariffs on Chinese goods.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis)