By Illinois Radio Network
PEORIA – A Central Illinois congressman said there is a split inside the White House on trade, and he’s picking a side.
Congressman Darin LaHood said there are some hard-line trade isolationists in President Donald Trump’s administration and there are some global traders.
Right now, they seem to be battling over trade and tariffs.
LaHood is among the global trade group. He said trade with China is good for America and great for Illinois.
“When I look at a district like mine, 40 percent of the corn or soybeans grown in McLean County, or Logan County, or Peoria County go somewhere else around the world,” LaHood said. “They get put on a barge, go down the Illinois River or the Mississippi River, go down through New Orleans, through the new Panama Canal, and go anywhere in the world.”
The same thing goes for Illinois hogs, John Deere tractors and heavy equipment from Caterpillar.
LaHood said that he has some concerns that Trump’s tariffs will be met with Chinese tariffs, as has already happened with hogs and soybeans.
“The last time these kind of tariffs were put in place, under the Bush administration, we lost 30,000 jobs in this country,” LaHood said. “Nobody won in that trade war. And nobody is going to win in this trade war.”
LaHood said he hopes that the tariff tit-for-tat cools between the U.S. and China as both countries sit down and talk.
