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Hopes fading for short-term resolution to trade war

The president and CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), Kirk Leeds, says hopes are fading for a short-term resolution to the trade war with China.

“It’s clear that both the U.S. government, and now the Chinese government, even more so, appear to be kind of laying in for a long battle here,” Leeds says. “There’s just very little reason right now to be optimistic about any short-term resolutions.”

Leeds says it’s possible the situation will get worse before it gets better.

“I’ve been saying for a long time that the story of 2018 is one thing, but the thing that most farmers ought to be more concerned about—and I think the country should be more concerned about—is what about 2019. That’s where it could really get serious.”

The longer the trade war lasts, Leeds says, the greater the concern about the long-term damage to soybean trade with China.

Leeds has participated in 25 Chinese trade missions during his tenure with ISA.

AUDIO: Kirk Leeds