Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — Governor Kim Reynolds says President Trump is using tariffs as leverage to force trading partners to the negotiating table.
Reynolds issued a written statement after Trump revealed a slate of tariffs on Wednesday afternoon. Reynolds said her job, as governor, is to protect Iowans, and Reynolds said she’s working directly with the administration to ease the short-term impact, keep the ag economy strong, and open the door to new export opportunities. Reynolds said Trump’s tariffs will put America’s farmers first, and she accused the Biden Administration of consistently ignoring the needs of Iowa farmers. Brooke Rollins, Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture, was in Iowa earlier this week. Rollins said she was planning a series of payments to farmers to make up for trade-related losses. This past Monday, Rollins told Iowa reporters the government does not have as much money as it had for these payments during Trump’s first term as president for farmers who’ll take a financial hit due to tariffs.
A few hours after Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday, four Republicans in the US Senate joined Democrats to pass a resolution to end new tariffs on Canada. Trump had been urging his fellow Republicans to reject the bill, and Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst voted against it.
Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says the Republicans who represent Iowa in Congress are either inept or too afraid to fight a president who’s more focused on tariffs than on lowering prices.
KIWA Staff Photo
