Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, defended U.S. agriculture Sunday, speaking out about the financial pain President Trump’s proposed tariffs on China is inflicting on American farmers and ranchers.
“We appreciate the president and his stance against China but, for the meantime, it is hurting our farmers and ranchers,” Ernst said Sunday during an interview with “The Cats Roundtable” on New York’s AM 970 radio station.
“I understand the need to protect American jobs, but American farmers are holding American jobs,” she continued.
Ernst said constituents in her state had experienced their “fifth consecutive year of dropping farm incomes,” adding they were “getting lower prices now at market than it even costs to grow that grain or raise those commodities.”
On April 5, the White House announced that Trump had asked his U.S. trade representative to explore the possibility of introducing tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese goods, after first publicizing his administration’s intent to pursue tariffs on $50 billion worth of products from China.
China’s commerce ministry, in response, vowed to retaliate against Trump’s threat of further tariffs “at any cost.”
Ernst made similar complaints on the Sunday morning talk shows in March.
“Nobody wins in a trade war,” she warned CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
