State of Tennessee Archives: on Free Trade


Manny Sethi: Need a second Industrial Revolution to bring jobs back to US

"All these Washington insiders, career politicians, have sold American jobs down the drain to save a buck," he said. "It's not just the healthcare supply chain; it's so many others that we rely on.

"We need to have a second Industrial Revolution in this country and bring these jobs back here."

Source: Hartsville Vidette on 2020 Tennessee Senate race Jun 6, 2020

Bill Hagerty: Decrease our strategic dependency on China

From Huawei to unfair trade to oppressive human rights violations, China has been working to compromise our security, weaken our economy, and harm our society. Since taking office, however, President Trump is standing up to China and fighting back to level the playing field, secure our nation, and decrease our strategic dependency on China.
Source: Breitbart News on 2020 Tennessee Senate race Mar 18, 2020

Bill Hagerty: Stand with Trump on being firm with China

Hagerty says, "The president has stood firm against China," he said. "He's stood up to China on their theft of intellectual property. He's stood up to China on their use of state owned enterprises to compete unfairly. And he stood up to China for forcing American companies to give up their ownerships and expose their entire networks, if they wanted to do business in China. We finally have a president that is willing to face it head on and I'm willing to stand right by his side."
Source: The Citizen Tribune on 2020 Tennessee Senate race Oct 27, 2019

James Mackler: Trade war with China is a disaster

Mackler accused Trump of causing rural hospitals in Tennessee to close and taking away health care from hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans.

Mackler said Trump's tax cuts are making it easier for jobs to move overseas and called the nation's trade war with China "a disaster."

Source: The Tennessean on 2020 Tennessee Senate race Jan 8, 2019

Bill Lee: Opposes Trump's tariffs on China

Q: Support Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel & other products?

Karl Dean (D): No.

Bill Lee (R): No.

Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Tennessee Governor race Oct 9, 2018

Karl Dean: Opposes Trump's tariffs on China

Q: Support Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel & other products?

Karl Dean (D): No.

Bill Lee (R): No.

Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Tennessee Governor race Oct 9, 2018

Marsha Blackburn: Trump's tariifs are a bad deal for Tennesseans

Q: Support President Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel and other products?

Marsha Blackburn (R): Still considering but "increasingly concerned these tariffs are a bad deal for Tennesseans."

Phil Bredesen (D): No. "The same as a new tax on Tennesseans."

Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Tennessee Senate race Oct 9, 2018

Phil Bredesen: Trump's tariifs are same as a new tax on Tennesseans

Q: Support President Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel and other products?

Marsha Blackburn (R): Still considering but "increasingly concerned these tariffs are a bad deal for Tennesseans."

Phil Bredesen (D): No. "The same as a new tax on Tennesseans."

Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Tennessee Senate race Oct 9, 2018

James Mackler: Renegotiate NAFTA; it hurts American workers

Americans can benefit from a global economy but only if we stop being taken advantage of in bad trade deals. James will never support a trade deal that hurts American workers or helps companies ship our jobs overseas. He'll work to re-negotiate deals that have been a disaster for our workforce, starting with NAFTA.
Source: 2018 Tennessee Senatorial website JamesMackler.com Oct 1, 2017

Bob Corker: Supports free trade, but anomalies need to be addressed

We have 4.5% of the world's population in America. We've got 22% of the world's economic output. If we want the standard of living for Americans to continue to grow we've got to do business with people around the world. Are there some anomalies that exist? We recruited a lot of car manufacturing to our state. In some cases we're competing directly with Mexico for lots of reasons, whether it's a tariff reason or a labor reason. There's no question that our state's resources have been spent in incentive agreements and other things to overcome those things. So, there is a little bit of a something there that needs to be addressed.
Source: Susan Glasser on Politico.com on 2018 Tennessee Senate race Feb 13, 2017

Gordon Ball: Fair trade is vital; but don't ship jobs overseas

To grow our economy, we need to sell our products to the rest of the world. But we have to have a level playing field, strong trade laws and strong enforcement. As a Senator, I will look hard at any trade agreement to determine how it would impact jobs here in Tennessee.

Fair trade is vital to our nation's economic future. Trade can create new jobs in exporting industries, expand markets for our businesses, and ensure our workers and businesses are competing on a level playing field in the global marketplace. But for too long, our workers, small businesses, and manufacturers have paid a steep price for an outdated trade agenda. I will fight wrong-headed trade policies that ship jobs overseas and shutter manufacturing facilities. That means fighting back against currency manipulation by trading partners. We need a trade agenda that promotes American workers and helps expand the "Made in America" label to markets around the world.

Source: 2014 Tennessee Senate campaign website, GordonBallSenate.com Aug 7, 2014

Bill Frist: Increase trade by designating Tri-Cities as port of entry

U.S. Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and U.S. Representative Bill Jenkins (R-TN) today applauded the Department of Homeland Security for designating the Tri-Cities Regional Airport as an official Port of Entry for the Customs and Border Protection Service.

"Today's announcement is great news for the Tri-Cities area," said Senator Frist. "The region's economy will be greatly enhanced by federal recognition and funding for the port of entry. It's been a long process but one that is great news for the region," said Senator Alexander. "This move from the existing 'user fee' funded port to a federally recognized port will significantly enhance the region's import and export efforts and overall economic development strategy."

Source: Vote-USA.org on 2010 Tennessee Senate incumbents Oct 4, 2008

Lamar Alexander: Increase trade by designating Tri-Cities as port of entry

U.S. Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and U.S. Representative Bill Jenkins (R-TN) today applauded the Department of Homeland Security for designating the Tri-Cities Regional Airport as an official Port of Entry for the Customs and Border Protection Service.

"The Tri-Cities Airport has been waiting for years to become an official Port of Entry for the Customs and Border Protection Service, so today's announcement is great news for the region," said Senator Alexander. "This move from the existing 'user fee' funded port to a federally recognized port will significantly enhance the region's import and export efforts and overall economic development strategy. Senator Frist has really led the way on this."

Said Senator Frist, "The region's economy will be greatly enhanced by federal recognition and funding for the port of entry."

Source: Vote-USA.org on 2010 Tennessee Senate incumbents Oct 4, 2008

Bob Tuke: Moratorium on all new Free Trade agreements

I will remove existing tax incentives that make it too easy for American businesses to ship American jobs overseas. And I support a moratorium on all new Free Trade agreements until existing agreements are analyzed and the appropriate adjustments are made to protect human rights, labor and environmental protections.
Source: 2008 Senate campaign website, tukefortennessee.com, “Issues” Jun 3, 2008

Bob Corker: Break down trade barriers to give farmers a world market

Source: Campaign materials, “Blueprint for Tennessee” Oct 1, 2006

  • The above quotations are from State of Tennessee Politicians: Archives.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Free Trade.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
2020 Presidential contenders on Free Trade:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)
Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Oct 14, 2021