Senator Grassley visits Parkersburg

Senator Grassley visited with members of Parkersburg Rotary #2216 at Todd’s Neighborhood Grill in downtown Parkersburg at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Over breakfast and coffee, the group discussed the old Parkersburg- New Hartford sports rivalry and family histories before Grassley opened the discussion to questions about what’s happening in Washington D.C. The trade war, tariffs, farm bill, Supreme Court nominations, Russian interference, fiscal responsibility, taxes and economic growth were all on the table in the discussion, and afterward in an interview with the press.

In answering a question about the trade war, Grassley explained Trump’s rationale: we buy three times more from China than they buy from us, so they need us more than we need them.

“I hope and pray that’s so,” Grassley said. “The trouble is China is a dictatorship where one person decides. We are a democracy, and how long can we be patient with another tariff?”

Farmers still stand with Trump, as far as Grassley has seen, but there’s a lot of anxiety.

“If the President is right, we’ll all be better off, and if it doesn’t work out the way he’s trying to make it work out, we’re going to have a catastrophic situation with agriculture,” Grassley said. “We’ve already seen soybeans three months ago were $10, and now they’re $8.”

It’s a hope for many that the President will accomplish his goal. Canada, for instance, according to the World Trade Organization averages nearly 249 percent dairy tariffs, while U.S. tariffs have been around 17 percent. Cars are imported with low tariffs, while exported cars face high tariffs.

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