As we hustle to harvest this year’s corn and soybean crops, Iowa farmers find themselves in the bullseye of a nasty and escalating trade battle between the United States and China. Like many farmers, I find myself in a dilemma over trade policy.

Like most farmers, I believe free and open trade provides the best opportunities for us to prosper. But we also want our government to take the necessary actions to protect us against unfair trade practices, and to stand up to violations of trade rules and abuses of our trading relationships.

China, in a number of instances over the years, has just not played fair. For all its buying power and potential, China has long been a problematic and unpredictable customer for Iowa agriculture, and for other sectors of...