Washington (CNN) The Trump administration is offering up to $12 billion in aid to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs stemming from President Donald Trump's widening trade feud with other countries.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Tuesday the emergency aid package will use existing funding to mitigate the estimated $11 billion impact of "illegal tariffs" other countries have imposed on US agriculture exports. The exports have been a prime target of China and other countries that have retaliated against the series of tariffs Trump has imposed in recent months.

"This is a short-term solution that will give President Trump and his administration time to work on long term trade deals to benefit agriculture and all sectors of the American economy," Perdue told reporters on Tuesday.

The aid package will offer much-needed support to farmers caught up in the burgeoning trade war sparked by tariffs Trump imposed on several of US's largest trading partners. But the proposal was quickly greeted Tuesday with continued criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill who argued Trump should nix his tariff strategy rather than roll out a financial backstop.

The nearly $12 billion package will include direct payments to producers of key agricultural exports like soybeans, corn, dairy and pork; a program to purchase surplus from some agricultural producers; and efforts to build out markets for US agricultural products.

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