Following a speech at Gov. Kim Reynold’s press conference on Tuesday, Iowa Soybean Association President, Bill Shipley, invited President Trump to his farm to discuss and resolve the China trade dispute. He offers Trump the chance to see Iowa planting first-hand. “He will meet the farmers who help create one of America’s most valuable exports, contributing to jobs and economic activity here at home and improved human health throughout the world, including China. It’s a discussion we welcome as we work to resolve this matter to the benefit of America and China,” Shipley says. With the United States supplying an estimated $14 billion in soybeans to China on an annual basis, Shipley says farmers still do recognize the legitimate trade issues that need to be resolved between the two countries. These include intellectual property rights and requirements placed on U.S. companies wanting to do business in China. The proposed soybean tariffs are adding to the uncertainty U.S. farmers are facing as they get ready to head to the fields for another planting season. Longer-term, Shipley says they are concerned about the establishment of anti-American sentiment in China that could jeopardize the ability to do business for generations to come. Shipley and the Iowa Soybean Association are urging the U.S. and Chinese officials to “pivot away from politics and posturing to resolving this escalating trade dispute for the benefit of American farmers and Chinese customers.”
