Peter Roskam in Obama Q+A at the 2010 House Republican retreat

On Free Trade: Free Trade Agreements are no-cost job creation

Rep. ROSKAM: On job creation, you mentioned Colombia, you mentioned Panama, you mentioned South Korea. Are you willing to work with us [House Republicans] to make sure those FTAs get called, that's no-cost job creation? And ultimately, as you're interacting with world leaders, that's got to put more arrows in your quiver, and that's a very powerful tool for us. But the obstacle is, frankly, the politics within the Democratic caucus?

Pres. OBAMA: You're right, there are conflicts within the Democratic Party. I suspect some Republican constituencies may be pretty suspicious about new trade agreements, because the suspicion is somehow they're all one way. Part of what we've been trying to do is to make sure that we're getting the enforcement side, that if we've got a trade agreement with China or other countries, that they are abiding with it--they're not stealing our intellectual property. And my hope is, that trade is going to be reciprocal; that it's not just going to be a one-way street.

Source: Obama Q&A at 2010 House Republican retreat in Baltimore Jan 29, 2010

The above quotations are from Obama Q+A at the 2010 House Republican retreat. Click here for other excerpts from Obama Q+A at the 2010 House Republican retreat. Click here for other excerpts by Peter Roskam. Click here for a profile of Peter Roskam.
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