Iowa's agricultural leaders fear further blows in trade war

Iowa agriculture groups said Monday that they are already feeling the repercussions of China’s tariffs.

More than 100 products are included in the tariff, but leaders in Iowa said they are worried about what could happen if political officials cannot reach an agreement.

“Whenever you see a trade war, everybody is impacted negatively,” said Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau. “We have suffered a great deal of price loss since the tariffs were announced.”

Hill said the pork industry works with several countries, but that still tariffs hurt production

“We need to reach destinations outside of our boarders,” he said. “We need to reach populations around the world.”

Tyler Bettin, public policy director for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, said many Iowans will feel the effects of China’s tariff.

“About one in 12 Iowans have a job in some way connected to the pork industry,” Bettin said.

Iowa is the No. 1 producer in the nation for pork, making the tariff hard on the state’s agriculture community.

Hill said he is worried that China could place a tariff on another big Iowa product.

“Soybeans would be a very direct hit on the state of Iowa because we are the No. 1 state in production and because it is so important as a crop for us,” he said.

Hill said China receives nearly all the soybeans exported from the U.S. and he hopes the soybean industry doesn't take the next hit.

“Extremely worried would be a correct characterization,” he said.

So far, China has implemented $3 billion worth of tariffs on United States' products.

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