State of Montana Archives: on Free Trade
Albert Olszewski:
Governor should be #1 salesperson for agriculture abroad
Montanans received more than $28 million from the federal government to offset losses farmers suffered under the trade war.Olszewski said the fault doesn't lie with Trump, saying instead the challenge is global overproduction and market
manipulation. "We're going to find a way that we create an even playing field for our producers so that they are not gamed, especially against the processors," Olszewski said. Olszewski also said he would be "the best salesman for our agriculture."
Source: Helena Independent Record on 2020 Montana governor debate
Nov 26, 2019
John Edward Walsh:
On trade mission: Montana is open for business
Walsh spoke toward the end of the trade mission luncheon [in Sydney, Australia. He noted] it would be in America's best interest not to be dependent on foreign oil or to have soldiers be in harm's way because of America's oil dependence on the
Middle East."I can tell you that we're here today to celebrate the fact that Montana is open for business," Walsh said. "Eastern Montana is the land of opportunity. It is home to the biggest energy boom in America. That's something we can be proud of.
Source: Sydney (Australia) Herald on 2014 Montana Senate debates
Nov 9, 2013
John Edward Walsh:
Don't ship American jobs to China
Montana Senate candidates Steve Daines and John Walsh accuse each other in TV ads of helping to ship American jobs to China, but both sides fail to support their exaggerated claims.Daines says Walsh "supported shipping American jobs to China,"
referring to President Obama's economic stimulus. But Walsh wasn't in the Senate at the time and didn't vote on the legislation. A small portion of the stimulus did go to Chinese firms, but Walsh had nothing to do with the award of stimulus contracts.
Walsh says Daines worked to build factories in China "at the same time Daines' company was firing thousands of American workers here." Daines did help Procter & Gamble expand in China in the 1990s,
but the company says Daines was not involved in strategic corporate decisions. Moreover, the implication that expansion in China came at the expense of U.S. jobs is unsupported.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2014 Montana Senate race
May 22, 2014
Jon Tester:
Tariffs on China harm our industries & drive up costs
Q: Support President Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel & other products?Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "We've had a trade war going on for decades. now we have a president who said we're not going to tolerate it."
Jon Tester (D): No. "These tariffs are harming our state's top industries by creating market uncertainty & driving up costs."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Montana Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Judy Martz:
Trade as "sister-states" in Japan, China, & Taiwan
Our sister-state relationships with Kumamoto, Japan, and Taiwan, have given Montanans ever-growing economic trade opportunities for Montana businesses. Our new sister-state relationship with Guangxi, China will help us build close cultural understandings
and economic ties with over one billion Chinese consumers. We are becoming an important player in one of the most significant economic arenas in the world. And I will build better relations and economic opportunities with our Canadian neighbors.
Source: 2001 State of the State Address to Montana Legislature
Jan 25, 2001
Matt Rosendale:
Stop tolerating what China has been doing for decades
Q: Support President Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel & other products?Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "We've had a trade war going on for decades. now we have a president who said we're not going to tolerate it."
Jon Tester (D): No. "These tariffs are harming our state's top industries by creating market uncertainty & driving up costs."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Montana Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Matt Rosendale:
China is a cheater; need fairer free trade deal
China is a cheater who has been stealing our technology and intellectual property rights with no repercussions. I applaud President Trump for having the courage to stand up to China. We have every right to demand a better
trade deal--a fair trade deal--that benefits our workers and our country. The President is an expert negotiator who I know will put America first and is starting his negotiations from a position of strength.
Source: Great Falls Tribune on 2020 Montana Senate race
May 21, 2018
Stan Jones:
NAFTA leads to American Union as part of one-world Communism
I risk sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but it's no longer a theory. What I'm about to say is fact. The secret organizations of the world power elite are no longer secret. They have planned and are now leading us into a one-world Communist government
The combining of national government started with the European Union--that union started with trade agreements; then a common currency, the Euro; & now a European Parliament that is feverishly passing laws that override the laws of the member nations
Now it's North America's turn. Building on NAFTA, the Commerce Department is busy drafting laws and regulations for a North American Union, a union of the Canada, America, and Mexico. No treaty has been signed, so Congress has not become not involved
However, money from our treasury is now being spent for this effort. We will have a new currency, the Amero; and a new Constitution, modeled on the Soviet Union's constitution.
Huge amounts of property will be taken in the name of free trade.
Source: 2006 Montana 3-way Senate Debate at MSU
Oct 9, 2006
Steve Daines:
Worked for 6 years bringing U.S. consumer products to China
An ad from the Walsh campaign accuses Daines of "double-speak," boasting about job creation while helping to outsource American jobs overseas: "Daines worked for years in China, helping an American company build factories there, at the same time Daines'
company was firing thousands of American workers here."Independently, both of those claims are more or less accurate. But we think the clear implication is that one caused the other, and that Daines was responsible for it. On both of those scores,
clear evidence is lacking.
Daines, then 29, worked for P&G in China from 1991 to 1997 to help expand the company bringing U.S. consumer products into China. And in 1993, P&G announced a plan to "streamline" its operations by closing 30 plants and
eliminating 13,000 jobs worldwide--including four plants and 4,000 jobs in the U.S. But did expansion in China come at the expense of American jobs? Walsh campaign officials claim it did. [We rule that there's no support] that Daines was responsible.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2014 Montana Senate race
May 22, 2014
Tim Fox:
Countries abused free trade; will work to resolve trade war
Fox said farmers and ranchers faced low commodity prices before Trump took office. Though he said the president stopped other countries who "were abusing this free trade idea and taking advantage of America," he acknowledged producers in
Montana have been hurt. "Our nation's governors have unique access to Congress and to the president, and I will use that access to advocate and encourage resolution of the trade war as quickly as possible," Fox said.
Source: Helena Independent Record on 2020 Montana governor debate
Nov 26, 2019
Wilmot Collins:
Fight to keep markets open for family farmers
Together we can make sure that the bedrock of Montana's economy, our farmers and our ranchers, aren't facing economic hardship because of harsher weather conditions or unpredictable markets. We can do this by investing in new
partnerships with scientists, innovators and agricultural tech companies, and fight to keep markets for our products open to confront the growing problems that family farms face.
Source: 2020 Montana Senate campaign website WilmotCollins.com
Jun 4, 2020
Corey Stapleton:
I generally believe in free trade (not protectionism)
I generally believe in free trade
(not protectionism), believe in strong national defense, and support the death penalty.
Source: Montana Public Radio on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
May 21, 2020
Ryan Busse:
Ban foreign adversaries from owning our farmland
[On "China's US land grab"]: "We should be protecting our national security all the time. And obviously, about a year ago, right now, we had a
Chinese spy balloon fly right over the middle of Montana," Busse said. "I think that it is a bipartisan thing, and I'm in favor of banning foreign adversaries from owning our farmland. Absolutely."
Source: NewsNation on 2024 Montana Gubernatorial race
Feb 4, 2024
Steve Daines:
Trade war with Canada will impact Montana farmers & ranchers
[On tariffs]: "I said, 'Mr. President, look my Montana farmers and ranchers--these are your people. They voted for you last November, but they are concerned right now about the impact of possibly reducing the ability to supply a very important market
like Canada, not to mention the rest of the world. Montana is impacted more by Canadian trade disputes than any other state in the United States. We have a higher percentage of trade with Canada than any other state in the United States."
Source: RFD TV, "Tariffs," on 2026 Montana Senate race
Apr 3, 2025
Page last updated: Feb 07, 2026