Several Democratic candidates recently made campaign stops in Jefferson to discuss agriculture topics.

Raccoon Valley Radio asked Democratic Presidential candidate John Delaney from Maryland about the trade negotiations with China and he believes that tariffs are not the answer.

“(Trump) Administration is focused on the wrong problem with China. The right problem with China is how do we stop them from stealing our intellectual property? Getting involved in a kind of a trade deficit-based trade war where we put tariffs on them and they slap tariffs on us, I mean that’s old-school economic policy. And it’s not good for our farmers here. They are being used as a pawn in this larger battle and they should have much larger, more strategic approach with China where they get all of our allies around the world together with US corporations and we have a unified front where we stand up with China against the number one risk which is them stealing our intellectual property.”

Democratic nominee for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Tim Gannon says now that the tariffs are in place, there are countries that are already looking to other purchasers for soybeans and pork, which he believes are hurting Iowa farmers now but could also hurt them in the long run.

“Once we start losing those markets that Iowa farmers and other farmers around the country have worked so hard to open, we’re not necessarily going to get them back even if we flip the switch and turn the tariffs off tomorrow. Those countries, those companies, those customers may decide that we are not as reliable of a supplier as we had always seemed to be.”

Gannon adds that almost all farmers he has spoken with voiced their anxiety about how long the tariffs and trade talks will continue before there is positive change.