OnTheIssuesLogo

Bill Weld on Free Trade

Former Republican Governor; former Senate candidate (MA)

 


Tariffs in 1920s croaked the world economy

Q: Both of the major party candidates have embraced a protectionist anti-free-trade policy. Does free trade benefit America?

WELD: In the purest sense, free trade is always going to benefit the United States compared to other countries because we have the highest rate of productivity and we're the most technologically advanced country in the world. So we're always going to have that edge. And free trade is going to produce high wage jobs in the United States. You know, it's an imperative to get the wage level up in this country. And that's one of the things that's going to do it. You may lose at the margin some low-wage jobs. But free trade over the long haul, even the intermediate haul, is going to increase the wage level in the United States. And the notion that Mr. Trump has of "let's impose these huge unilateral tariffs," we tried that with the Smoot-Hawley tariff in the 1920s and it croaked the world economy.

Source: 2016 CNN Libertarian Town Hall with Gary Johnson & Bill Weld , Jun 22, 2016

Despite being Libertarian VP, still interested in free trade

Weld won the vice-presidential nomination after a long day at the convention. Many delegates say Weld is not one of them; such as: "He hasn't been in the Libertarian Party for more than about a month. He hasn't read the platform. He came out yesterday in favor of standardized testing in the schools, which is not a Libertarian position," Stewart said. "We're against those kinds of mandates. And at one point yesterday, also in the same Q&A--now, I understand he might have been trying to be facetious, but if he was, it did not go over properly--he said, when asked about free trade, 'Gary, am I allowed to be a free trader?' " [the LP platform calls minimal government management of trade, implying no free trade agreements]

Libertarians may have to get used to Weld's wry humor. For his part, the former Massachusetts governor says he's now committed to the Libertarian cause. "Well, I read the platform yesterday, so now I know all the issues," Weld told me. "It's actually a pretty good platform."

Source: Libertarian Party/NBC News press release , May 30, 2016

Other candidates on Free Trade: Bill Weld on other issues:
2016 Presidential Candidates:
Donald Trump(R-NY)
Gov.Mike Pence(R-IN,VP)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(D-NY)
Sen.Tim Kaine(D-VA,VP)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Gov.Bill Weld(L-MA,VP)
Dr.Jill Stein(G-MA)
Ajamu Baraka(G-VP)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Evan McMullin(I)
2016 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)
2016 Withdrawn GOP Candidates:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Abortion
Budget/Economy
Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families/Children
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Infrastructure/Technology
Jobs
Principles/Values
Social Security
Tax Reform
War/Iraq/Mideast
Welfare/Poverty

About Bill Weld:
Profile
AmericansElect quiz
MyOcracy quiz
Wikipedia
Ballotpedia





Page last updated: Aug 22, 2016