Bloomberg.com: on Free Trade


Donald Trump: FactCheck: NAFTA reduced U.S. jobs by 1%, not 30% or 50%

Trump said, "You go to New England, Ohio, Pennsylvania, you go anywhere you want, Secretary Clinton, and you will see devastation where manufacturing is down 30, 40, sometimes 50 percent. NAFTA is the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere but certainly ever signed in this country."

Bloomberg Fact check: NAFTA had a modest effect on manufacturing jobs. An Economic Policy Institute analysis says manufacturing jobs dropped in the 1990s from 17.9 million to 17.6 million.

Trump said of Hillary, "She's been doing this for 30 years. And why hasn't she made the agreements better? The NAFTA agreement is defective," [implying that Hillary and Bill Clinton held primary responsibility for NAFTA]. Chicago Tribune fact-checkers noted that while NAFTA was signed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, it was largely negotiated under the administration of George H.W. Bush.

Source: Bloomberg News Fact-check on First 2016 Presidential Debate Sep 27, 2016

Rob Portman: Negotiated fast-track under Bush; but slowing it under Obama

Senator Ron Wyden [D-OR] has become the White House's chief congressional ally on free trade, helping Pres. Obama and the US Trade Representative push for a bill to streamline the passage of trade deals, alienating liberal activists. Wyden is even up against some key Republicans, including former US Trade Representative Rob Portman, who was once in charge of negotiating such treaties under Pres. Bush. Now a senator from Ohio, he's teamed up with Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-NY] to put fast track on a slower track by requiring treaties to include enforceable prohibitions against countries' suppressing their currencies to gain a competitive advantage--a move the Treasury Secretary warned in a letter would "likely derail" a Pacific trade deal. Steelmakers and automakers favor the Portman amendment, which he says he'll bring to the floor after it failed in committee. "It's about how to say with a straight face to the people who we're hired by, 'This is going to be good for you,'?" Portman said.
Source: Bloomberg News coverage of 2016 Ohio Senate race May 2, 2015

Ron Wyden: Key supporter of fast-track trade-promotion authority

Disapproval trails Ron Wyden these days. Over the past few months, he's become the White House's chief congressional ally on free trade, helping President Obama and the US Trade Representative push for a bill to streamline the passage of trade deals. That's alienated liberal activists in Oregon, his home state, who show up at the senator's public events flying a 30-foot-long blimp that says, "Ron Wyden: It's up to you. Don't betray us!"

In the Senate, [many Democrats] oppose giving the president "fast-track" trade-promotion authority, which limits Congress's ability to modify trade agreements the administration negotiates with foreign governments. "The answer is not only no, but hell no," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said. His advice to Wyden: "Slow this thing down a little bit."

The fast-track bill would let Congress instruct negotiators what it wants out of a trade deal, but then stop lawmakers from tacking on any amendments when presented with the treaty for approval.

Source: Bloomberg News coverage of 2016 Ohio Senate race May 2, 2015

  • The above quotations are from Bloomberg.com and Bloomberg News political coverage.
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2020 Presidential contenders on Free Trade:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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