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WASHINGTON—Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas) is helping lead efforts in Congress to promote free and fair trade. Read his latest op-ed on the current trade negotiations between the U.S. and China below.

Rep. Ron Estes: Why some Democrats are rooting for the Chinese on trade
Washington Examiner
by Rep. Ron Estes
4/16/18

President Trump recently suggested farmers will end up “better off” after confronting China on trade but acknowledged it will “take a little while to get there.” He understands that enlisting farmers as front-line troops in a protracted trade war won’t end well. I believe, and I think the president believes, that free and fair trade is the right policy.

What’s surprising is how many Democrats in rural and Midwest states seem to not only want a trade war but want the Chinese to win. They are so obsessed with Trump failing they’re willing to sacrifice American agriculture on the altar of the #Resistance.

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The current debate about trade shows that Midwestern states, including Kansas, have long been leaders in the global economy. The irony is the coastal elites who tolerated China’s unfair trade practices created the untenable situation Trump is now confronting.

China has clearly engaged in predatory policies that have harmed American workers — including the theft of American intellectual property, which costs us jobs.

Kansas agricultural producers and aerospace manufacturers stand to benefit greatly in the long run from free and fair trade. We have an enormous stake in the outcome of the showdown with China.

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While I support the president's strong negotiating posture, I urge him to be more strategic in implementing tariffs and trade policy. It isn’t just the agriculture and aerospace sectors in our state that are concerned.

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The good news, however, is Trump’s confrontational approach seems to be working. President Xi Jinping of China this week renewed his vow to support open markets and additional imports. I believe each side views a trade war as a lose-lose proposition. In a trade war, each side takes itself hostage and begs the other side not to shoot.

The fact is Xi is leading a first-world economy that has grown accustomed to third-world trade practices. He knows he can’t have it both ways any longer. China can’t shake down American companies for their intellectual property if they want Chinese companies to be treated fairly in foreign markets.

This takes place with ongoing negotiations to modernize NAFTA. President Trump’s administration has been working with our trade partners Mexico and Canada to find common ground on a free and fair trade policy. We need to modernize and update NAFTA and provide a permanent agreement with no sunset to give certainty to the economies of Midwestern states like Kansas that depend on exports.

To some trade skeptics, globalization is a dirty or conspiratorial word. But it’s a reality of life. Farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers in states like Kansas provide the products for global trade. The interconnectedness of today’s global economy is the product of American ingenuity and innovation. That should be a source of pride rather than division.

The global economy doesn’t have a reverse gear. Trump is putting America in the driver’s seat and making sure the rules of the road are fair.

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