Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley remains optimistic that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations will come to a conclusion that benefits agriculture.
The Gazette Dot Com said Grassley’s optimism remains in spite of the hard-line taken by the Trump administration in the negotiations. Grassley and other ag-state senators have been continually pushing for the trilateral agreement to continue.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says NAFTA supports 138,000 jobs and $5.3 billion in exports from Grassley’s home state.
At a recent appearance in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Grassley noted that he expects the hard-line negotiations from the Trump administration to continue, but he also says, “surely they’re not going to let this thing fall through.” Grassley says he, fellow Iowa senator Joni Ernst, and Senate Ag Committee Chair Pat Roberts of Kansas have all been continuing to push for the agreement in meetings with several key Trump advisers. He’s had three or four meetings with trade adviser Pete Navarro, two or three with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with Grassley for 45 minutes.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.