Iowa Senators Ask White House To Increase Overseas Trade
Both of Iowa’s senators are sending President Joe Biden a letter, urging him to seek new trade agreements in the Indo-Pacific region; a region that stretches from Australia to India and Japan to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand- encompassing around two dozen nations.
In the letter, Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst point out Biden’s stance to prioritize domestic agendas before trade issues.
The Biden domestic agenda, at least what we've had of it so far in 2021, has stalled while China is taking very serious action to expand its foothold in the Indo-Pacific area.
With China requesting to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the US is placed in a critical position.
If the administration fails to even enter conversations on this partnership. The United States is at risk of losing crucial markets to the Chinese.
The Phase One agreement that President Trump signed with the Chinese back in 2020 to expand US purchases has expired and Grassley points out that the nation failed to live up to its promises.
The Ernst-Grassley letter states that an additional agreement with the Chinese is needed that would give farmers stability, predictability, certainty," he says, "ensuring China will continue to purchase.
One-third of Iowa’s agriculture production goes overseas meaning that around 86 thousand family farmers rely on these exports.
Grassley and Ernst aren’t the only ones that have been urging the administration to take a look at expanding trade markets. White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell told the White House that they need to “step up its game” earlier this month.