Young leads Iowa delegation to express concerns on tariffs

Iowa Congressman David Young led Iowa's Congressional delegation on a letter to President Donald J. Trump expressing their continued concerns retaliatory tariffs will harm Iowa's farmers and asked the President to act expeditiously to save Iowa's rural economy.

"I do believe the administration has good intentions, but nobody wins in a trade war and Iowa's farmers will be hit hardest if the situation is not resolved quickly. I urge the President to act to help Iowans find more markets for their goods," said Congressman Young. "Iowa farmers are strong and resilient but they are hurting under the weight of a five-year downturn in the farm economy and struggling to make ends meet."

In March, the Iowa Congressional delegation told the President agriculture is the first to be hurt in any trade dispute. Markets for soybeans, corn, and pork are trading significantly lower than before the President started imposing tariffs.

Read the full text below. A digital copy is available HERE.

Dear President Trump:

As members of Congress representing the great State of Iowa, we wrote in March warning of retaliatory measures targeting our agriculture exports. We remain concerned about the impacts of these retaliatory tariffs from our major trading partners on Iowa agriculture products coming to fruition. We strongly urge you to quickly resolve our trade differences and avoid a trade war.

Farmers are currently experiencing a five year, 52 percent downturn in our agricultural economy and these tariffs are taxes Iowa families cannot afford. Soybean futures are currently trading at their lowest in nine years and are down under nine dollars a bushel. Corn prices have fallen sharply since the start of June and are down over four percent from last year. Pork futures are down as much as 18 dollars per animal on an annualized basis. Farmers are facing tight margins and low commodity prices, which makes the latest tariffs catastrophic for Iowa’s economy.

Iowa ranks second in the nation for agricultural exports. Iowa is first in the nation in pork ($2.0 billion), corn ($1.75 billion), feed grain ($1.32 billion) and second in soybean exports ($3.11 billion). Canada, Mexico, and China are top destinations for Iowa pork, soybeans, corn, and beef. China is one of the world’s fastest-growing beef import markets and recently began buying American beef again last year. In the first six months after the ban was lifted, China purchased $31 million of U.S. beef and USDA estimates over 1 million tons will be sent to China in 2018. The U.S. exported $24.1 billion worth of agricultural products to China in 2017.

Mr. President, these tariffs have real consequences on states like Iowa, rural communities across the nation, and on America’s farms. We encourage you to act expeditiously to save our rural economies.

Sincerely,

Congressman David Young, Senator Joni Ernst, Senator Chuck Grassley, Congressman Rod Blum, Congressman Dave Loebsack, Congressman Steve King