President Donald Trump’s $12 billion plan to compensate farmers for financial losses stemming from his decision to impose tariffs on imports could push U.S. trade-distorting farm subsidies to their highest level since the late 1990s and potentially exceed WTO limits, former U.S. agriculture officials said.The highly controversial trade aid package creates a policy contradiction as the U.S. gears up for trade talks with the European Union. The administration is preparing to pay out additional subsidies to American agricultural producers at the same time it says it is embarking on talks with the EU to eliminate all tariffs, subsidies and non-tariff barriers across the Atlantic, though the two sides disagree on whether agriculture will be part of those negotiations.And on a practical level, the Trump administration's aid plan could lead some farmers to get paid twice for losses, if they signed up for federal price support and insurance programs, the former officials said.“I think it's very, very likely that there will be some double-dipping on these losses,” said Joe Glauber, a former USDA chief economist.