U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue last week urged Congress to “put American policy ahead of politics” and ratify the proposed new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“We’re anxiously awaiting,” Perdue said during a stop in central Iowa, where he toured a Vermeer manufacturing plant in Pella and a Corteva Agriscience greenhouse in Johnston. “It’s important to companies like this. It’s important to farmers.”

The White House and Congress remain locked in a standoff over who needs to bend first in order to secure passage of the trade deal.

Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst along with other...