(CNN) The federal government will spend an additional $16 billion to help farmers hurt by the US-China trade war, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Thursday.

US farmers have been among the hardest hit by the escalating trade war between the two countries, and both sides are bracing for additional pain resulting from the latest volley of tariffs announced earlier this month.

Perdue said President Donald Trump approved the farmer aid to undermine China's efforts to retaliate against US tariffs.

"Well, President Trump feels what they're trying to do is really outlast him and that's not gonna work. Their economy has hurt a lot more than our agricultural economy and that's why President Trump has authorized a $16 billion facilitation program," Perdue said Thursday morning on Fox Business.

Perdue said that the farmer aid will be paid for by an equivalent amount the US expects to pull in through tariffs. But Perdue also claimed that "China's gonna pay for these" -- a false assertion made repeatedly by Trump

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