State of North Carolina secondary Archives: on Free Trade
Al Pisano:
No opinion on free trade
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Support & expand free trade"?
A: N/A for Governor's Race
Source: OnTheIssues 2020 interview on North Carolina Governor race
Apr 30, 2020
Bev Perdue:
Visited China to see N.C.'s competition
Last year I visited China on a trip to recruit new businesses and develop our economic relationships with our second largest trading partner. It was my first trip to China; I wasn't fully prepared for what I saw or how I felt afterward. I went into
classrooms where children were studying concepts far in advance of American children of similar ages. They demand more work out of their kids. They require more involvement from parents. They expect no less than excellence from their students and teacher
and parents and schools. Education in China is a major part of the reason their workers are global competitors. Make no mistake--they are North Carolina's competition, and they have learned from our successes.When the factories started laying off
workers or closing, Chinese imports were competing with American products. The fires of the recession have forged a new North Carolina, one where we never lose faith in our possibilities. So many of those possibilities point directly back to education.
Source: North Carolina 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 14, 2011
Deborah Ross:
Always against the TPP; we need to stop trade agreements
Ross said she opposes TPP. "I have always said that I am against TPP," she said. "We need to protect American workers and we need to stop trade agreements. It hurts the middle class." Ross stated in a response to a questionnaire in Indy Week for the
March primary that she was against the TPP. "North Carolina has seen too many jobs get shipped overseas because of trade deals that didn't work for us, and the TPP deal doesn't do enough to protect North Carolina workers or the world's environment."
Source: McClatchyDC.com on 2016 North Carolina Senate race
Aug 16, 2016
Phil Scott:
Opposed tariffs on Canadian products
Q: Support administration tariffs on steel and other products?Phil Scott: No. Opposed tariffs on Canadian products. "They're our largest trading partner.
It has an effect on everything we do."
David Zuckerman: No position found.
Source: CampusElect survey on 2020 North Carolina Gubernatorial race
Nov 3, 2020
Sean Haugh:
We need to completely change to free trade
America shouldn't be a global policeman, he said, quoting George Washington's admonition against foreign entanglements. "We need to completely change [foreign policy] to free trade," said
Haugh, whose campaign is steeped in themes opposing war and seeking cooperation through trade and diplomacy.
Source: Carolina Journal on 2014 North Carolina Senate debate
Apr 8, 2014
Thom Tillis:
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).
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC): "I applaud the Trump Administration on reaching an agreement with Mexico and Canada to replace the outdated NAFTA and ensure our alliances with our neighbors remain strong."
Source: White House press release in 2020 North Carolina Senate race
Oct 2, 2018
Roy Cooper:
Signed agreement to strengthen economic ties with the UK
Cooper and United Kingdom Minister for International Trade Penny Mordaunt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Trade Relations to strengthen economic ties. "With this memorandum, we will deepen economic and cultural ties with the
United Kingdom to create new opportunities for trade and economic development as we transition to a clean energy economy," said Cooper.
Source: 2024 North Carolina Gubernatorial website governor.nc.gov
Apr 19, 2023
Michael Whatley:
World will adjust to new tariffs trade policy
Whatley told the crowd of around 50 at Talley Student Union, "I am not panicking" about the markets. He said he believed they "will rebound" as the world adjusts to the new policy
(multiple prominent trade partners, including the E.U. and China, have vowed to retaliate with additional tariffs of their own). And he urged students to take a longer, and wider, view of the administration's trade policies.
Source: NC Newsline, "Overreaction": 2026 North Carolina Senate race
Apr 8, 2025
Thom Tillis:
Seems like we've decided to begin a trade war on all fronts
Tillis, a critic of tariffs and protectionist policies, questioned whether the Trump administration had a coherent strategy to rebalance trade after announcing roughly $600 billion in new import taxes last week. "It just seems like we've decided to
begin a trade war on all fronts, and that's OK, if the person who thought this through has an answer for why you go after partners that we have a very long storied relationship with," Tillis said. "I wish you well, but I am skeptical."
Source: The Hill on 2026 North Carolina Senate race
Apr 8, 2025
Page last updated: Feb 06, 2026