Ernst doesn’t see a trade deal happening this summer

Although Sen. Joni Ernst would love to see a trade deal with China this summer, she doesn’t see it happening just yet, she said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“This is a really difficult situation that the farmers are in,” the Iowa Republican told host Dana Bash. “And just to remind the viewers, 1 in 5 jobs in Iowa is tied directly to trade, most of that around the farming sector, our agricultural sector. So it is very tense times, but as we have heard from our farmers, they do want us to find a path forward with China.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that it would provide $16 billion to farmers who have been affected by retaliatory tariffs, with the majority of that funding going directly to farmers producing a wide range of crops and livestock.

“The tariffs are hurtful right now, but the president will continue negotiating,” Ernst said. “We hope that we can get a deal soon but, to put it best — I think it came from a farmer in Iowa after one of our farmer roundtables — he stood up and said, ‘I get why the president is doing this. What I don’t get is why we didn’t have a president that would stand up for us before this.’”

When asked if there’s a point at which Ernst will say enough is enough and call for Trump to remove the tariffs on China, Ernst added: “At what point do you say national security, the interests of our country, that’s enough? I think that our trade rep, the president, they understand those implications. They know better where we are with those negotiations. The president has asked those farmers to hang on just a little bit longer.”

“It is tenuous,” Ernst said. “It is hurting in the Midwest. It’s hurting all over the country with the tariffs. But at the same time, we do have to get China to the table. We have to stop them from stealing intellectual property. We have to stop them from forced technology transfers. All of that is detrimental not only to our economy, but to our national security.

“The president has called our farmers patriots. It doesn’t pay the bills, but we will see in the upcoming months how long we can sustain.”

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine