U.S. President Donald Trump walks from Marine One as he returns from Kansas City, Missouri, to the White House in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will meet at the White House with a group of 13 farm-state Republican senators and representatives on Thursday to talk about trade, a top issue in their states ahead of November congressional elections.

The meeting, scheduled for 4 p.m. (2000 GMT), comes a day after the Trump administration announced $12 billion in aid for farmers hit by tariffs from China, the European Union and other countries retaliating against tariffs that Trump levied on steel, aluminum and other products.