Mike Pompeo on Free Trade

2009: free trade among nations; 2019: trade war with China

As Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration is 'determined to fix' the trade wars with China and that the biggest growth opportunity for U.S. agriculture products is in Asia. To Pompeo, there is no contradiction between his own full-throated support of free trade as a congressman and Trump's strategy of imposing tariffs on China and other countries. "Oh my goodness, the president is deeply free trade," he said. "Let's be clear, the trade war with China was started decades ago, and no president was prepared to take it on." He argued that the short-term pain caused by retaliatory tariffs will pay off in the form of better long-term trading deals.

Steer clear of business with Iran

Rated 50% by the USAE, indicating a mixed record on trade.

Ratings by USA*Engage indicate support for trade engagement or trade sanctions. The organization's self-description: "USA*Engage is concerned about the proliferation of unilateral foreign policy sanctions at the federal, state and local level. Despite the fact that broad trade-based unilateral sanctions rarely achieve our foreign policy goals, they continue to have political appeal. Unilateral sanctions give the impression that the United States is 'doing something,' while American workers, farmers and businesses absorb the costs."

USA*Engage at Work
• Developing the Case: USA*Engage explains the benefits of economic engagement, and the high cost of sanctions for American exports, investment and jobs.
• Education: We recruit respected foreign policy and economic experts to speak out against sanctions, actively engage the media and provide outreach to key target states and Congressional districts.
• Contacting Government Officials: USA*Engage directly contacts Congressional, Administration, state and local officials.

VoteMatch scoring for the USA*Engage ratings is as follows :

• 0%-49%: supports trade sanctions;
• 50%-74%: mixed record on trade engagement;
• 75%-100%: supports trade engagement.