Interviews during 2017-2019: on Free Trade
Gloria La Riva:
Support global transformation from capitalism to socialism
The Socialist Party stands for a fundamental transformation of the economy, focusing on production for need not profit. So-called fair trade is meaningless as long as the world economy is dominated by a few massive corporations.
Only a global transformation from capitalism to socialism will provide the conditions for international peace, justice, and economic cooperation based on the large-scale transfer of resources and technology from the developed to the developing countries.
Source: Socialist PSL Platform adopted by 2020 presidential hopeful
Aug 3, 2020
Rocky De La Fuente:
American citizens' economic security takes priority
We recognize current trade policies have failed and resulted in the export of our manufacturing job base which sustains America's middle class. The Reform Party calls for the repeal or revision of current trade agreements.
America's elected leaders have a primary responsibility to assure that American citizens' economic security takes priority in any trade policy decision.
Source: Reform Party Platform adopted by 2020 presidential hopeful
Jun 22, 2020
Bernie Sanders:
Americans have to compete with people making pennies an hour
Here in Michigan trade has been a disaster. Trade agreements like NAFTA and permanent normal trade relations with China which forced American workers to compete against people making pennies an hour has resulted in the loss of
160,000 jobs here in Michigan. Some four million jobs all over this country. I helped lead the effort against these disastrous trade agreements.
Source: Meet the Press interview on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Mar 8, 2020
Mike Bloomberg:
China tariff--2015: incalculable damage; 2019: not damaging
Larry Kudlow once said Trump's proposed policies on trade would lead to a bad recession, cause "incalculable damage" to the economy and kill consumers and businesses alike. Kudlow made those comments in 2015.
Kudlow said the tariffs Trump then sought and has now moved to impose on China and Mexico would damage the US economy enormously. The comments from Kudlow harshly contradict the administration's current positions on trade.
Kudlow stood by the administration's current policies in a phone interview with CNN's KFile. "That was then and this is now," Kudlow said. "I think his trade policies with China in particular have been very strong.
They are not damaging the US economy." Asked about his past criticism, Kudlow claimed he was speaking hypothetically.
Source: CNN K-file on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 26, 2020
Joe Walsh:
Everybody loses in a trade war with China
Walsh's comments on China have focused on criticizing Trump's trade war and advocating for free trade. He opposes Trump's escalating tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports, arguing that "everybody loses in a trade war."
He says that the tariffs amount to a tax increase on the middle class and that Beijing's retaliation is "devastating to our farmers." He calls Trump's claim that tariffs are paid by for by China "absurd."
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Dec 24, 2019
Mark Sanford:
Investment cratering; no one knows what's coming next
If you look at the business investment numbers over the last couple of months, they've been cratering. The reason they're cratering is nobody knows what's going to come next, in terms of trade. And nobody knows what's going to come next out of the White
House, in terms of policy. That is not the kind of environment where businesses invest. There are any number of different things where you'd say, "No. We need a course correction." And we need to have a conversation about that course correction.
Source: Meet the Press interview for 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Aug 18, 2019
Joe Walsh:
Tariffs are a tax increase on middle-class Americans
Walsh wrote that Trump "abuses the Constitution for his narcissistic trade war. In private, most congressional Republicans oppose the trade war, but they don't say anything publicly."
Walsh, who has come under criticism from listeners for espousing anti-Trump views on his radio show, called out the Republican Party for supporting a president whose tariffs amount to a "tax increase on middle-class
Americans and are devastating to our farmers."
"That's not a smart electoral strategy," he warned fellow conservatives. "It's one of the many reasons
Mr. Trump is ripe for a primary challenger. In fact, it would buck the historical trend if he didn't have one. More often than not, unpopular presidents face primary challengers."
Source: Salon.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Aug 16, 2019
Julian Castro:
Protect American workers but take part in global economy
We live in a 21st century global economy. We need to make sure that we always protect our American workers and companies, that they benefit by whatever we do in terms of trade. But we are going to compete in a 21st century global economy, and we need
to do that effectively. We're going to crack down on people who cheat. Before we enter into any kind of trade agreement, we want to make sure that we have tougher environmental standards, labor standards, and enforcement standards.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 11, 2019
Beto O`Rourke:
Support NAFTA and TPP
Hailing from a border area that relies on trade with Mexico, O'Rourke supports the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, and has indicated he would not significantly renegotiate it.
He also supported other large trade deals including, in 2015, the initial attempts by Congress to move forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Mar 14, 2019
John Hickenlooper:
No tariffs on goods from China and Europe
- Economy: Free trader, opposes Trump administration's tariffs.
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Hickenlooper supports pro-business policies and free trade. He opposes President Donald Trump's trade policy and tariffs on goods from China and the European Union.
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As a business owner he helped revitalize downtown Denver and as mayor backed a multibillion dollar public transportation initiative, including 119 miles of commuter train track that connects the metro area and suburbs.
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As governor, Hickenlooper oversaw a booming Colorado economy that was one of the strongest in the country when he left office in 2018.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Mar 4, 2019
Bill Weld:
Return to free trade; tariffs counterproductive
The United States should return to a regime of free trade rather than having constant recourse to tariffs.
Mr. Smoot and Mr. Hawley tried tariffs in June, 1930, and fanned the flames of the Great Depression.
Source: Speech in New Hampshire by 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 15, 2019
Donald Trump:
Nominates opponent of World Bank to lead World Bank
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the World Bank described himself in 2011 remarks as a 25-year opponent to the institution & others like it, saying that they needed to be "thrown away" and started over from scratch. David Malpass made the comments
while speaking to a local Republican gathering in Albertson, New York, in May 2011. CNN's KFile reviewed a recording of his remarks which were posted on YouTube at the time.Trump's decision to nominate Malpass was met with some pushback, with critics
contending Malpass held views that are hostile to the bank's mission, which is to reduce poverty in developing nations through financial assistance.
The US president has chosen the leader of the World Bank since its founding in 1945, but the pick has
to be confirmed by the organization's board of directors. If confirmed, Malpass would succeed Jim Yong Kim, who was chosen by President Barack Obama in 2012 to lead the organization and re-nominated in 2016.
Source: Andrew Kaczynski, CNN KFile, on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Feb 14, 2019
Howard Schultz:
Trump's tariff war is a strategic mistake
The trade and the tariff war that President Trump has started is a strategic mistake. This war has resulted on a tax on U.S. consumers on lots of goods and services. Every farmer, everyone within the agricultural industry,
everyone in the steel industry has lost markets that will not come back for years. Most importantly, we have damaged an important diplomatic relationship with China.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 12, 2019
John Delaney:
Supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership
- Delaney has criticized China for intellectual property theft and supports building a global alliance to pressure China to open its markets.
- He commended the president for taking China seriously as a global threat, but opposes the
administration's tariffs, which Delaney argues hurt American farmers and curtail job growth.
- While in Congress, Delaney was one of a few Democrats who supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and he is interested in revisiting the trade deal.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Feb 4, 2019
Julian Castro:
Renegotiate NAFTA to protect workers & environment
Castro wishes to renegotiate the
NAFTA trade deal in order to provide more protections for workers and the environment.
Source: Townhall.com: "The 2020 Democrats" (presidential hopefuls)
Feb 4, 2019
Cory Booker:
No fast-track trade authority for Trans-Pacific Partnership
Booker has said little recently about President Donald Trump's re-negotiation of trade deals with Canada and Mexico, but he once said such agreements need to be "much more fair to U.S. companies."
He opposed giving the Obama administration fast-track trade authority during early negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Feb 1, 2019
Kirsten Gillibrand:
Renegotiate NAFTA; add environmental protections
The New York senator would like to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. She agrees with President Donald Trump about ending a system
of tribunals that resolve trade differences. But she would like to see more environmental protections and more gains for dairy farmers who trade goods with Canada.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Jan 16, 2019
Julian Castro:
Renegotiate NAFTA
As mayor of San Antonio, Castro strongly supported NAFTA and expanding the trade deal. He has said that he believes
the agreement should be renegotiated to strengthen worker and environmental protections.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Jan 12, 2019
John Delaney:
Supports trade but government must help those it has hurt
Solidly built and impeccably tailored, Delaney, 55, is a Democrat who believes in what he has lived: upward mobility, with assistance. He recognizes the obvious, that globalization has been "extraordinarily positive" for billions
more people than it has injured, but its American casualties are real and deserve government help.
Source: Elaine Godfrey in The Atlantic: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Dec 10, 2018
John Hickenlooper:
Supports USMCA trade agreement to replace NAFTA
The USMCA is a new trade pact among the United States, Mexico and Canada, intended as a stronger and modernized replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO): "Let's hope all 3 countries can move ahead with the new trade agreement with certainty, with protections for Colorado farmers, workers and businesses."
Source: White House press release in 2020 presidential hopefuls
Oct 2, 2018
John Kasich:
Review trade violations without heavy-handed tariffs
It is up to Americans to constantly innovate in order to remain competitive. Our international trading partners have to realize, however, that if they do not do more to eliminate government subsidies, dumping, and other anticompetitive behavior, support
for free and fair trade will collapse even further in the United States. The result will be that everyone will suffer. That said, we should not have to resort to heavy-handed tariffs and quotas in order to get our partners to start taking our concerns
seriously. To reduce jobs losses from trade, we need an expedited process, free of bureaucratic delays, to review trade violations and stop them when they occur. But we must also undertake new efforts that help people obtain the skills they need
for the jobs of the future. It was a mistake for the Trump administration to turn its back on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have eliminated 18,000 foreign tariffs currently imposed on products that Americans make & seek to sell overseas.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
Jun 6, 2018
John Kasich:
Combat Chinese dumping and currency manipulation
There are limits to how much can be achieved through cooperation [with China]. We should acknowledge our rivalry with China more frankly and prepare our country to compete more vigorously. This does not necessarily mean embarking on a path of
outright confrontation. Rather, it means putting hopes of a peaceful political evolution in China on the back burner and incentivizing Beijing to play a constructive role in the international system. It also means being prepared to decisively counter
Chinese moves that threaten the United States and its allies.The State Department should better protect our economic interests by combating
Chinese dumping and currency manipulation, streamlining the World Trade Organization's dispute-resolution process, and insisting on full reciprocity in market access.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
Jun 6, 2018
John Kasich:
Trade was not responsible for job losses; technology was
In the US as a whole, one in five jobs--40 million of them--depend on trade, and these jobs tend to be higher paying. But there are also some people who have suffered as a result. Jobs have been lost.It is up to Americans to constantly innovate in
order to remain competitive. Our international trading partners have to realize, however, that if they do not do more to eliminate government subsidies, dumping, and other anticompetitive behavior, support for free and fair trade will collapse even
further in the US. The result will be that everyone will suffer. That said, we should not have to resort to heavy-handed tariffs and quotas in order to get our partners to start taking our concerns seriously.
But we must also undertake new efforts
that help people obtain the skills they need for the jobs of the future. Trade was not responsible for the majority of American job losses in the last generation; technology was. That trend will only accelerate.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
Jun 6, 2018
John Kasich:
Support TPP to eliminate 18,000 foreign tariffs on US goods
Without greater confidence about their future place in the global economy, Americans will have little reason to support international cooperation and engagement. If the US continues to go it alone, however, that will only open up further opportunities
for nations that do not have our best interests at heart, such as China and Russia, to shape our future for us. That's why it was such a mistake for the Trump administration to turn its back on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have eliminated
18,000 foreign tariffs currently imposed on products that Americans make and seek to sell overseas. Those tariffs hold back job creation, and eliminating them could unleash new growth across the US. We shouldn't have threatened to jettison NAFTA either.
Instead, we should work with our neighbors and partners to modernize these agreements. On trade, as on many other issues, the goal should be to find win-win solutions, not to make threats and try to divide and conquer.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
Jun 6, 2018
Marco Rubio:
Bring back American car-manufacturing via high automation
Rubio's implication that Republicans have found no good answer to the problems Mr Trump describes: The president's scheme to revive the 1970s economy through protectionism and deregulation is unrealistic, as Mr Rubio--who these days dares not criticise
Mr Trump--cannot help but acknowledge. "The future is going to happen," he says. "I have no problem with bringing back American car-manufacturing facilities, but, whether they're American robots or Mexican robots, they're going to be highly automated."
Source: The Economist on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 26, 2018
Bill de Blasio:
NAFTA was a disaster; we will not repeat mistake with TPP
Mayor Bill de Blasio today joined a slew of city politicians to decry President Barack Obama's proposed Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal--comparing it to North American Free Trade Agreement, which he deemed a "disaster." "There's such passion
on this issue because we've already been to this movie," Mr. de Blasio said at an anti-TPP rally in front of City Hall this morning. "We saw it with NAFTA. We saw what a disaster NAFTA was, and we're not going to repeat that mistake in our time."
Source: New York Observer on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Apr 7, 2016
Page last updated: Nov 01, 2021