Senator Chuck Grassley held his weekly press conference with Ag reporters on Tuesday morning. As expected, there was a lot of talk on just what details were available on the partial trade agreement with China.
Senator Grassley voiced his optimism in getting a partial agreement with the Chinese. He said he hoped it would carry over to getting a full agreement. However, he also cautions Americans to realize that history hasn?t shown us a relationship based on trust with China.
Grassley says we need to make sure there are strong enforcement mechanisms in the agreement. While he is hopeful the promise to buy more Ag exports from the U.S. is encouraging, it isn?t enough of a guarantee.
The big hurdle now is to get the agreement on paper and get Chinese President Xi Jingping to sign off on the deal as well. Language has commonly been the biggest challenge in the negotiations. Senator Grassley says we need to be certain that what gets put on paper translates the same on both sides of the deal.
Senator Grassley says he expects to be briefed by U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer later this week.
