The Republican National Convention continues today in Cleveland, Ohio and many in agriculture fear there will be quite a bit of anti-trade talk during this week’s event.
They are also are looking for Donald Trump to keep pushing for reform of the regulatory agenda in D.C. Trump has come out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and threatened to impose high tariffs on China.
But Agri-Pulse is reporting that while all of that is alarming to the agriculture industry, Trump’s selection of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate has brought some optimism back into the Ag sector. Pence is an outspoken supporter of the TPP and the other trade deals. House Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway has offered to advise the Trump Campaign on farm policy, but they haven’t responded.
On the other side of the coin, several recent media reports note that USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is among a handful of candidates being considered as a potential nominee for Vice President and running mate for Hillary Clinton on the Democratic ticket. During an interview on NBC, Vilsack said, “Trump is to politics what Bernie Madoff was to investment. He’s selling something the public doesn’t fully appreciate and understand.”
Politico Reports the biggest shortcoming for the former Iowa Governor as a candidate might be a lack of foreign policy experience. His response was, “Here’s what I know about foreign policy: The United States must be at the center of every problem globally. We must lead. I understand that.” Vilsack told NBC he’s happy to talk about all aspects of government.