Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are asking Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to lift the Section 232 tariffs levied against steel imports. They say the move is needed to help Iowa’s farmers recover from the Derecho storm in August which destroyed a slew of grain bins and machine sheds. Past Iowa Soybean Association President Tim Bardole lives near Rippey near the starting point of the Derecho and says this tariff lifting is badly needed.
He says the Derecho is just part of the misery experienced by Iowa’s producers, they’ve also been up against drought and hail, low commodity prices and the pandemic.
Bardole says the crop damage is enormous.
Both Grassley and Ernst say farmers have told them that increased prices for steel would collectively add hundreds of millions of dollars in cost to them as they try to rebuild.
