As agriculture lobbies Congress to introduce and pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, there could be a battle brewing over the ending of U.S. trade tariffs. Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says there is no way Congress will consider the new North American trade deal until President Trump lifts the tariffs that have caused other countries to implement retaliatory tariffs that have hit U.S. farmers hard.
Grassley told reporters this week that Trump has to end the steel and aluminum tariffs in place on our North American trading partners before Congress will take up the USMCA Agreement. Farmers across the country have been suffering economically because of the reciprocal tariffs in place on all kinds of agricultural products. Grassley says tariffs could also make it more difficult to get a trade deal done with China.
The long-time Senator says tariffs are “keeping the president on the cusp of a big win” with Canada and Mexico, especially as he’s days or weeks away from potentially establishing a trade agreement with China.