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Republican politicians walk fine line on trade war with China

Many Republican politicians in farm country are walking a fine line on President’s Trump’s “get tough” trade policy with China, expressing general support for what Trump is trying to accomplish, but also urging quick resolution to the dispute.

Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s glad the U.S. is standing up to China’s long-term unfair trade practices.

“They’ve been sticking it to us for years. They’re a really bad actor and our farmers know that. In fact, they stole seed right out of the ground here in Iowa and they wanted to reverse engineer it,” says Reynolds. “So stealing our intellectual property and technology transfer—or stopping our containers as they come into port—that just can’t be the cost of doing business in China.”

But for the sake of Iowa’s farmers, Reynolds says, the trade war needs to be settled “sooner rather than later”.

“Especially as we move into August or the first of September, because that’s when notes are due. They’re negotiating their leases. They’re emptying their bins and they’re getting ready to harvest,” she says. “So that’s really going to be a crucial time and we just need to see some movement now that would start to bring some stability to a very volatile market.”

Reynolds says the longer the dispute goes on, the more devastating the impact on Iowa’s farmers and the entire state.

“We need to hold China accountable. We need free and fair trade—of course, I support that. But bottom line, it can’t be on the backs of our farmers.”

Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars, Iowa contributed to this story.

AUDIO:  Governor Kim Reynolds