U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Iowa to discuss trade with farmers who are struggling to survive low commodity prices and tariffs that have hurt sales.

Pompeo, flanked by U.S. Ambassador to China and former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, spoke Monday to a group of young suburban Des Moines Future Farmers of America members at a high school in Johnston, Iowa.

During questions he defended President Donald Trump’s trade policies and withdrawal from an international climate agreement.

On the recent negotiations with North Korea, he says the U.S. made some progress but “didn’t get to where we hoped we’d be and I think there’s a lesson in that.”

In his visit to the Des Moines area, Pompeo also is touring a DowDuPont agricultural research facility and giving a speech to hundreds of Iowa Farm Bureau members.

(AP)