Trump trade policy would hurt Iowa agriculture, Democrats say

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's trade policy would hurt Iowa agriculture exports, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said in a Thursday media call organized by the Hillary Clinton campaign.

'We produce a huge amount of corn and soybeans and pork, among other things, and are dependent on foreign trade,” Miller said. 'For Trump to be entering into a very anti-trade program, to do away with various agreements, this is very dangerous for Iowa agriculture.”

When asked why Trump would be more harmful to Iowa farm exports than Clinton, who also opposes the TPP (after initially supporting it), Miller said Clinton has been more pro trade in other cases.

Three Democrats spoke during the 20-minute call about why they think Trump's business practices would hurt the small business owners and laborers he purports to champion. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the topics raised in the call.

In a policy speech June 28, Trump said he would renegotiate terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, label China a currency manipulator and impose tariffs on China for what he described as 'illegal activities” that include theft of trade secrets.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has promoted strong trade relationships with China, which was Iowa's third-largest export market in the first half of 2015, the governor's office reported. In 2014, the U.S. shipped $24 billion worth of agriculture products to China, and $14 billion of that was soy exports.

Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, who also participated in Thursday's call, said Clinton should be clear about why she opposes the TPP and Democrats shouldn't try to ratify the deal in President Barack Obama's lame duck session.

Frank has advocated for broader compensation for American workers affected by foreign trade deals.

Ravi Patel, president of Hawkeye Hotels, an Iowa City-based chain of 70 hotels across the country, decried how Trump's companies have used bankruptcy to erase debts.

'When he filed for bankruptcy, it allowed him to exit the distressed situation without hurting himself, but hurt all the contractors,” Patel said during the call.

A June 9 USA Today Network review found Trump has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits in the last 30 years, with a large number of the suits involving contractors or employees who said Trump or his companies have refused to pay them.

Trump has acknowledged four of his companies have filed for bankruptcy, but says it's a common business practice.

Patel said his company, which employs about 1,000 people, has had liens filed against specific properties, but owners have always invested money into the properties to pay off the debt.