Washington (CNN) Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said Sunday that the US-China trade war is "hurtful" to farmers, a group that makes up a considerable portion of her Iowa constituency.

"But as we have heard from our farmers, they do want us to find a path forward with China. The tariffs are hurtful right now, but the President will continue negotiating. We hope that we can get a deal soon," Ernst told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

"This is a really difficult situation that the farmers are in. Just to remind the viewers that one in five jobs in Iowa is tied directly to trade. Most of that is around the farming sector, our agricultural sector. So it is very tense times," Ernst said.

The senator added that while she would like to see a trade deal between the two countries reached in the coming months, she "doesn't see that happening this summer."

"The President has asked those farmers to hang on just a little bit longer. It is tenuous, it is hurting in the Midwest. It's hurting all over the country with the tariffs, but at the same time we do have to get China to the table," she said. "We have to stop them from stealing intellectual property. We have to stop them from forced technology transfers.

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