The following statement may be attributed to Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Craig Hill.

“Iowa farmers appreciate President Trump’s concern for farm families struggling through these challenging economic times and are hopeful the $16 billion agricultural trade assistance package announced today will help mitigate the financial effects the trade war has had on farmers and agriculture.  We look forward to learning more details about the package and listening to our members regarding the impacts of the assistance package.    

While another round of financial assistance may help keep some farms in operation, our members continue to make one thing very clear-- they prefer trade over aid.  As the cost of running our farms continues to rise, with low commodity prices and lack of market access, farmers need access to global markets for their products, and securing trade deals will have a much larger and long-term on-farm impact than temporary aid.

We continue to encourage the administration to work diligently to reach an agreement that will end this trade war, and we urge congress to ratify the trade deals they have before them, primarily the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) with our two largest trading partners for Iowa and U.S. agricultural exports.  We are hopeful that trade negotiations with China progress to a swift resolution of our trade dispute.  

The clear preference for farmers is negotiating new trade agreements where we can grow demand for American-grown food, fiber and energy and have free access to markets, unencumbered by tariffs.”