Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 7/19/18

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue defended the Trump administration's approach to trade policy Wednesday evening before a group of free trade lobbyists who honored him for his service in support of opening markets and expanding exports.

"Tariffs are not the ultimate answer," Perdue told the Washington International Trade Association, referring to Trump's aggressive use of trade remedy laws to impose tariffs on trading partners. "But they are a tool to get people's attention so we can get the players on both teams playing by the same rules."

Perdue acknowledged retaliation by China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union was causing pain in farm country, but tried to frame it in an optimistic light. "I had the chance to tell the president in the Cabinet meeting today when he asked how things are going out in farm land: 'I said Mr. President, I can't lie to you. It's a little bit like a weight loss program. ... It's painful when you're going through, but we think there's going to be better days ahead.'"

Roberts' perspective: Sen. Pat Roberts, another WITA award recipient, said at the same event that farmers and agribusinesses are suffering from Trump's trade policies. He said they are increasingly worried about being "left behind" as other countries are more aggressively negotiating new trade deals than the United States. He ended his speech by exhorting WITA members to "saddle up and ride" in defense of free trade. "Let's get this situation taken care of before any more damage occurs," Roberts said.