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Gary Bauer on Free Trade
2000 Republican Primary Candidate for President
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Revoke China’s MFN & help US farmers
Q: What will you do as president to help farmers get sufficient pay for their work? A: Free trade is fine, but we don’t have free trade. For 10 years in a row, we have given China Most-Favored Nation status and in exchange they have stuck their finger in
our eye. They buy less of our farm products now than they did in the past. Governor Bush and many others up here would give China MFN status again. I will not. I will withdraw it the first week in office.
Source: Republican debate in West Columbia, South Carolina
, Jan 7, 2000
Europeans fight to protect their farmers; so should we
The politicians pulled another fast one. They said to farmers: We’re going to put you more at risk in the international marketplace. But in exchange, we’re going to fight to open up markets around the world. They did not keep their end of the
bargain. Europeans keep our beef out with this excuse about growth hormones. They keep Iowa corn out because of genetic engineering. European governments fight to protect their farmers. We need a government that will fight to protect American farmers.
Source: Des Moines Iowa GOP Debate
, Dec 13, 1999
WTO bureaucrats are out of control
KEYES [to Bauer]: The WTO is an unrepresentative body based on an illegitimate principle of government; it is not a body that contains entities that are based upon consent. And yet it could make decisions that affect our lives & jobs. Our Constitution
says that our representative bodies are supposed to be composed of states based on republican forms of government-consent not dictatorship. How can you support our membership in the WTO without violating our constitutional liberties?BAUER: I don’t
like bureaucrats-they are out of the reach of the people. I don’t like HMO bureaucrats; I don’t like Washington bureaucrats that are trying to run the schools. And I don’t like WTO bureaucrats either. I think that when decisions are made that affect the
way we live, that affect our jobs, those decisions ought to be made by people that we can reach, so if we don’t like what they’ve decided, we can get rid of them. And I believe that in the case of the WTO, it’s a system out of control.
Source: (cross-ref. from Keyes) Phoenix Arizona GOP Debate
, Dec 7, 1999
Seattle protestors were right that WTO isn’t representative
I don’t agree with the demonstrators in the street [at the WTO talks in Seattle]. I think they had a lot of hidden agendas. But they were right about one thing: the WTO is not representative. It’s an alliance between some third world countries and a lot
of big corporations. And I think it’s hurting American workers & farmers. I suspect the WTO system is so broke that it can’t be fixed and we’ve got to start over from ground zero. I’m prepared to do that in order to protect American workers and farmers.
Source: Phoenix Arizona GOP Debate
, Dec 7, 1999
Fight for new export markets to help farmers
The Freedom to Farm Act of 1996 was a step in the right direction toward releasing farmers from the constricting mandates of Washington’s bureaucracy. America’s farmers were promised open markets at high risks, but unfortunately, Washington has not kept
its pledge to open foreign markets. We must immediately review the Act and take swift action to alleviate the pressure in the agriculture community today. As President, I will fight to open the door to new export and trade markets on every continent.
Source: Bauer2K.com “On the Issues: Agriculture”
, Sep 6, 1999
Corporations should serve America as well as shareholders
To the extent that the world wants American products, it is because of what America stands for, and the courage of our young men that made the world a safe place for American companies. And I would hope that someday some of these corporate presidents
would get up in the morning and say, “I am the president of an American company, and I’m an American citizen. Sure I care about my shareholder, but I also care about my country. If there’s a conflict between the two, I will stand with my country.”
Source: Speech at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
, Apr 13, 1998
Gary Bauer on China
Entrepreneurial China trade same as with totalitarian Cuba
BUSH [to Bauer]: Capital that goes into Cuba will be used by the Castro government to prop itself up. Dollars invested will end up supporting this totalitarian regime.. It’s in our best interest to keep the pressure on Castro until he allows free
elections, free press & free the prisoners.BAUER: You just made the case for withdrawing MFN status from China. Everything that you just said about Cuba applies to China.
BUSH: There is a huge difference between trading with an entrepreneurial class
like that which is growing in China and allowing a Castro government to skim capital monies off the top of capital investment.
BAUER: Tell the people rotting in the prisons of China that there’s any difference between Castro’s Cuba & Communist China.
There is none.
BUSH: If we turn our back on the entrepreneurial class that is taking wing in China, we’re making a huge mistake.
BAUER: They are using that money for a massive arms buildup that our sons will have to deal with down the road.
Source: (cross-ref from Bush) GOP Debate in Michigan
, Jan 10, 2000
Apply Reagan’s USSR policy: No MFN; insist on human rights
BAUER [to Bush]: Ronald Reagan never gave the Soviet Union most favored nation status. He always insisted on progress on human rights & national security. Our new challenge is China. They persecute their people, arrest those who practice their religion,
forcible abortions, etc. Yet you’ve embraced the policy of Clinton and Gore, you want to give them MFN status & membership in the WTO. Why not follow a Reagan policy instead of a Clintonian policy?BUSH: [I don’t] follow the policies of Clinton-Gore.
They believe in what’s called a strategic partnership. I believe in redefining the relationship to one of competitor. But competitors can find common ground. It’s in our best interests to sell to the Chinese, and to make sure that the entrepreneurial
class in China flourishes. If we make China make an enemy, they’ll end up being an enemy. If we trade with China, and trade with the entrepreneurial class, and give people a taste of freedom, I think you’ll be amazed at how soon democracy will come.
Source: (cross-ref. to Bush) Phoenix Arizona GOP Debate
, Dec 7, 1999
China is a threat; refuse MFN status & WTO membership
In the 1990s, China emerged as the world’s gravest threat.. China brutalizes its own people, steals American nuclear secrets, threatens. its neighbors with ballistic missiles, and represses free expression and religious liberty. Instead of embracing
China as a “strategic partner,” we must renew our commitment to a peaceful, democratic Taiwan. We should refuse to renew China’s Most Favored Nation status or grant it membership in the World Trade Organization until it changes its behavior.
Source: www.bauer2k.com/html/indepthissues.html 5/24/99
, May 24, 1999
Target sanctions against companies owned by Chinese Army
Sanctions [against China] have to be targeted. Let’s take a look at the trade between the US and those Chinese companies owned by the People’s Liberation Army. A significant portion of the trade we have with China is not with freestanding commercial
enterprises. It is with the same army that runs the slave labor camps, with the same army that is engaged in the middle of a massive arms buildup in order to dislodge the US as the predominant power in the Pacific. [That is] morally unacceptable on its f
Source: Speech at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
, Apr 13, 1998
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Other candidates on Free Trade: |
Gary Bauer on other issues: |
Former Presidents:
George W. Bush (R,2001-2009)
Bill Clinton (D,1993-2001)
George Bush Sr. (R,1989-1993)
Ronald Reagan (R,1981-1989)
Jimmy Carter (D,1977-1981)
Gerald Ford (R,1974-1977)
Richard Nixon (R,1969-1974)
Lyndon Johnson (D,1963-1969)
John F. Kennedy (D,1961-1963)
Dwight Eisenhower (R,1953-1961)
Harry_S_TrumanHarry S Truman(D,1945-1953)
Former Contenders:
V.P.Al Gore
Pat Buchanan
V.P.Dick Cheney
Sen.Bob Dole
Ralph Nader
Gov.Sarah Palin
Political Thinkers:
Noam Chomsky
Milton Friedman
Arianna Huffington
Rush Limbaugh
Tea Party
Ayn Rand
Secy.Robert Reich
Donald Trump
Gov.Jesse Ventura
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