In the U.S., we cannot allow our competitiveness to suffer, and neither must we forget about the resources and the resourcefulness of rural America.

As we seek new markets for Southern Missouri agriculture and manufactured goods, our local economy will continue to grow.

America's largest trade deficit is with China, a nation that enjoys Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the U.S. and ties its currency to the dollar to make it a more competitive trading partner.

A key U.S. initiative in this trade war must be to develop reliable trading partners in the world.

China is not only formidable, it is also aggressively building its own economic infrastructure. Just a few years from now, China will rival the U.S. and the European Union in global market power. It already has surpassed us in population.

As the U.S. trade deficit, and the portion of that deficit attributed to China, continue to grow, our own economy is at risk of losing its reputation as a leader in world trade.

Already, China has undermined U.S. foreign policy in efforts to gain access to oil resources in Iran and Sudan. We simply cannot separate the political and economic values of oil.

With a strong domestic economy, low national unemployment at 5 percent, and increasing retail sales, the picture should look rosy. But one look at the trade deficit changes all of that.

All those trucks and barges that carry our goods to port are vital connections to the only force which can balance our trade deficit: export. We must keep doing what we do best if we are going to get America out of the red.