Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, says she is talking to farmers nearly every day at roundtables across the state and to a lot of producers and manufacturers as they continue to fight for fair trade practices with the rest of the world.
Reynolds says they are still willing to give this administration a little latitude to get agreements with Mexico and Canada and to work through the tariffs on Chinese trade. However, she adds, the sooner we can get that done and inject some certainty into the market, the better off we will be. According to Reynolds, Iowa has been directly impacted by the unfair trade practices that China has employed.
She adds that it is past time for an update to the agreements with our North American trade partners.
Getting Mexico on board would particularly help with our pork producers as they are ramping up the production and processing for this critical market. Her hope is that a partnership with Canada and Mexico will provide strength in numbers when it comes to dealing with China.
There is a focus on not only settling these negotiations, but looking for new market shares as well. For the first time in years, pork markets in Argentina have been opened and that is a positive point for Iowa producers. There is also a push to get E-15 and higher blends available year-round through the RVP waiver.
