State of Connecticut secondary Archives: on Free Trade


August Wolf: Ratify fast-track trade authority and TPP

Wolf endorses lowering individual and corporate taxes and ratifying the fast-track trade negotiating authority which reportedly is needed to pass the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) between the United States, Japan and 10 other countries, which collectively represent 40% of the global economy.

Obama has had far more support from Republicans than Democrats on fast track and TPP. The president has said that if America doesn't establish trade standards in the Pacific Rim then China, which has the world's second largest economy, will do so. "I believe that comparative advantage in trade is real," Wolf said, who supports the TPP.

Source: Brookfield Patch on 2016 Connecticut Senate race May 31, 2015

Dan Carter: Oppose TTP as neither free trade nor fair trade

We must change tax laws to allow billions of dollars in American assets, currently held overseas, to come home to America. We can bring money back to Connecticut, thereby creating new jobs. I oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership. It is not fair or free trade. We can avoid losing an estimated 450,000 American jobs by being tougher and standing up for our workers. I believe and will support legislation and treaties that create fair trade among our global partners.
Source: 2016 Connecticut Senate campaign website CarterForSenate.com Aug 8, 2016

Dan Malloy: Make sure entire world knows: CT is open for business

We have spent the past 13 months setting the stage for this economic revival. Now is the time to commit to making it a reality. In order to make this happen I believe there are three things we need to do.
  1. We need to maintain the fiscal discipline we imposed a year ago. That discipline has made Connecticut a more predictable, reliable, stable place in which to do business. It's given the private sector the confidence it needs to make investments and create thousands of new jobs.
  2. We need to continue to make sure the entire world knows Connecticut is open for business.
  3. We need to reform the public school system that educates our children.
And we need to commit to this vision and implement it--year after year, until we get it right. That's been one of our problems for too long: we're good at making plans, we're not good at sticking to them. Too often we've found ourselves simply careening from idea to idea, with no clear roadmap to guide us. Not anymore.
Source: Connecticut 2012 State of the State Address Feb 8, 2012

Dan Malloy: Trade trips to China to promote aerospace & bioscience

Malloy plays off his two immediate predecessors, Jodi Rell and John Rowland, who governed for 16 of the 22 years when Connecticut was one of two states with no net job growth, the other being Michigan. He uses the past as a baseline, a point of comparison to find statistical signs of progress today.

"We have needed to reposition ourselves for two decades," Malloy said. "This has to be seen as an overall vision about how you get a state going that has been unwilling to get going for so long. I don't have any doubt the efforts we're making will pay dividends and are paying dividends."

Malloy mentions trade trips to China to promote the state's aerospace industry and its bioscience initiatives on the Farmington campus of the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Source: The Connecticut Mirror on 2014 Connecticut Governor race Dec 18, 2013

Joseph Lieberman: Connecticut jobs rely on exports

LIEBERMAN: Ned's come out against trade now. He was always for it before. Connecticut benefits from trade. Not everybody does, some people suffer, and we need to help them with trade adjustment assistance. But we do $9 billion worth of exporting from Connecticut every year. That creates hundreds of thousands of jobs. One quarter of the manufacturing jobs in Connecticut depend on exports. If he thinks he can put a bubble over the US and stop all of that and make more jobs in Connecticut, he's wrong.

LAMONT: Senator, we just keep exporting jobs. Over the last 18 years, we have lost 40% of our manufacturing jobs and a lot of our defense-related jobs. Going forward, [we should] invest in infrastructure. That's public transportation. That's freight. That's ports. These are all things necessary to be able to build a base upon which small businesses can grow. We have been losing good-paying jobs in the state, and if Ned Lamont is a US senator, we can turn that around with a long-term strategy.

Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate Jul 6, 2006

Maggie Hassan: N.H. is fastest-growing state in the nation for exports

We increased international trade assistance to help businesses market and sell their products around the globe. Through November, our business exports rose 22 percent in 2013, making New Hampshire the fastest-growing state in the nation for exports.

For New Hampshire's economy to keep moving forward, we need to continue supporting common-sense measures that will help our businesses compete and thrive.

Source: 2014 State of the State address to Connecticut legislature Feb 6, 2014

Ned Lamont: Lieberman never saw a trade agreement he didn't like

In the last 18 years [of Lieberman's 3 terms], we have lost 40% of our manufacturing-related jobs. We have lost over half of our defense-related jobs. People are earning less. A lot of our good paying jobs are leaving the state and leaving the country. Senator Lieberman has never seen a trade agreement that he didn't applaud. I don't think this is the type of leadership we want. When it comes to bringing home things for the state of Connecticut, we are 49th out of 50 states.
Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate Jul 6, 2006

Ned Lamont: Negotiate strong labor & enviro into trade agreements

We are the largest market on the face of this earth. People want to do business with the United States of America. And we should negotiate these trade agreements from the position of strength. Labor agreements, environmental standards, these should be key to what we want to do. We owe it to our workers to give them a level playing field and let them compete around the world. Our workers can compete with anybody. They can compete with anybody if given a fair shot.
Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate Jul 6, 2006

  • The above quotations are from State of Connecticut Politicians: secondary Archives.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Free Trade.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
2016 Presidential contenders on Free Trade:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI)
Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023