Perdue: US Farmers Will Regain Markets Lost in Trade War

REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. (AP) -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has told nervous Midwestern farmers he's confident that they'll eventually regain the markets they've lost in the Trump administration's trade war with China.

Perdue participated in a listening session Wednesday at Farmfest, an annual trade show in Minnesota. He heard criticism from farmers about the trade war and the pain it's causing in rural America.

China announced Monday that it was halting purchases of U.S. farm products in response to President Donald Trump's threat of more tariffs on Chinese imports.

Perdue says he believes the U.S. will gain the China market back. But he says it will have to be a "fair, reciprocal and free trade environment."

Perdue says farmers are resilient and he wants to help them thrive.