GOVERNOR: Trade is good for Arkansas.

WASHINGTON — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told federal officials Monday that free trade has been good for his state and warned that new trade barriers could undermine its economy.

The Republican chief executive shared his concerns during a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington.

“I don’t like the potential of a trade war,” Hutchinson said in an interview Monday evening. “I have confidence after my meeting today that, whenever all of the process is completed, we will be able to avoid that kind of tit-for-tat trade war and that Arkansas will be in a good position in terms of our leadership in global trade,” he said.

Mike Preston, the executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, was also on hand for the discussion.

“It was a very important opportunity for me as a governor to make the case for our state in terms of the importance of global trade to our industry in Arkansas, including agriculture,” Hutchinson said. “As our trade representative negotiates, I want him to be aware of states like Arkansas that [are] dependent on this trade and the impact that it would have on our state.”

Hutchinson’s trip to the capital came four days after President Donald Trump’s administration announced steel and aluminum tariffs on major U.S. allies, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

Foreign leaders denounced the move and threatened to retaliate.

Hutchinson said he told Lighthizer about “the importance and the impact of these negotiations and tariffs on our state.”

Arkansas had $6.3 billion in exports in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Trump and his team are aware of the stakes, Hutchinson added.

“It’s clear the Trump administration understands the importance of this trade and they want a fair deal that is more beneficial to the United States, but they certainly are not trying to disrupt that global trade,” he said.

During the meeting, Hutchinson said they discussed the North American Free Trade Agreement, trade with China, and the steel and aluminum tariffs.

Trump declared last week that the U.S. is importing steel and aluminum products “in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.”

Hutchinson said Trump wants a level playing field.

“What they’re trying to accomplish, of course, is keeping that manufacturing capacity in the United States and to prevent unfair trade practices by other countries and to improve that balance of trade,” he said.

Also on Monday, Hutchinson received a classified briefing at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center.

Today, he’ll meet with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services to discuss the state’s expanded Medicaid program, known as Arkansas Works. The Department gave Arkansas a waiver allowing the state to require recipients to work or participate in other activities.

Hutchinson’s trip comes at a time of uncertainty for NAFTA.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters Monday that he doubts lawmakers will be able to vote on a new trade deal before 2019, Bloomberg reported.

And Mexico holds presidential elections on July 1; the ruling party’s candidate trails badly in all of the polls.

All three countries realize the importance of reaching a new agreement, according to Melvin Torres, director of western hemisphere trade for World Trade Center Arkansas.

“I think that everyone wants NAFTA to work. It’s [in] everyone’s best interest,” he said. “I think everyone wants to wrap it up pretty soon.”

The nation’s largest retailer is also closely following developments.

“Walmart is engaged in the discussions and are advocating for an outcome that will benefit our suppliers and customers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico; however, we have strong businesses in those countries that operate independently,” the company said in a written statement. “Our focus will be on leveraging Walmart’s size and scale on goods and services, including logistics, to obtain the best price and assortment, whatever the outcome of the negotiations.”