(Radio Iowa) – President Trump is leaving today (Tuesday) for his first trade trip to China during his second term, and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley predicts Iowa farmers could see some significant benefits from the president’s visit.
“He’s going to particularly emphasize importation of soybeans, and he’s taken several industry people over there,” Grassley says, “like for instance, ADM would be one that would be interested in grain sales to China.” China is Iowa’s 4th largest trading partner, behind Canada, Mexico and Japan. The Office of the U-S Trade Representative says Iowa exported 756-million dollars in goods, mostly agricultural, to China in 2025.
The U-S House is scheduled to vote this week on allowing the year-round, nationwide sale of E-15, and Grassley is addressing threats that House members from oil and gas producing states will try to block its passage. “I think that you could have big oil and the small refineries working against this bill,” Grassley says. “Probably they wouldn’t want to kill it, but delaying it would be the same as killing it.”
Grassley notes that House Speaker Mike Johnson has already made a commitment to Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra that this issue will reach the floor. “I would remind Speaker Johnson, who runs the House of Representatives, that he promised Feenstra that there’d be a vote, and so we shouldn’t have any delay,” Grassley says, “and hopefully that vote is positive for E-15.”
During a campaign rally in Iowa back in January, the president announced he’d sign a bill to permanently override E-P-A rules that ban the sale of E-15 in the summer months due to concerns over smog.
