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Mitt Romney on Free Trade
Former Republican Governor (MA)
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Trade with China only if they follow international rules
China has an interest in trade. China has 20 million people coming out of the farms and coming into the cities every year, they want to be able to put them to work. They want to have access to global markets. And so we have right now something they need
very badly, which is access to our market and our friends around the world, we have that power over China. To make sure that we let them understand that in order for them to continue to have free and open access to the thing they want so badly, our
markets, they have to play by the rules. They can't hack into our computer systems and steal from our government. They can't steal patents and designs from corporations. And they also can't manipulate their currency in such a way as to make their
prices well below what they otherwise would be.
We have to have China understand that like everybody else on the world stage, they have to play by the rules. And if they do, we'll have open trade with them and work with them.
Source: 2011 debate in South Carolina on Foreign Policy
, Nov 12, 2011
Go to WTO about China; we're already in a trade war
Q: How can the US make China follow the rules of international trade?Romney: Well number one, on day one, it's acknowledging something which everyone knows, they're a currency manipulator. And on that basis, we also go before the
W.T.O. [World Trade Organization] and bring an action against them as a currency manipulator.
And that allows us to apply, selectively, tariffs where we believe they are stealing our intellectual property, hacking into our computers, or artificially lowering their prices and killing American jobs. We can't just sit back and let China run all over
People say, "Well, you'll start a trade war." There's one going on right now, folks. They're stealing our jobs. And we're going to stand up to China.
Source: 2011 debate in South Carolina on Foreign Policy
, Nov 12, 2011
China is a currency manipulator; go after them for cheating
ROMNEY [on videotape]: I will label China as it is, a currency manipulator, and I will go after them for stealing our intellectual property, and they will recognize that if they cheat, there is a price to pay. I certainly don't want a trade war with
anybody, and we're not going to have a trade war, but we can't have a trade surrender either. Q: [to Huntsman]: You were ambassador to China, and you say that this would risk a trade war. But if China is indeed keeping its currency low, that means tha
everything they sell in this country is artificially cheap and everything that our companies try to sell in China is artificially expensive. So what do you say to people who ask, aren't we already in a trade war with China?
HUNTSMAN: I don't subscribe
to the Mitt Romney school of international trade. I don't want to find ourselves in a trade war. With respect to China, if you start slapping penalties on them based on countervailing duties, you're going to get the same thing in return
Source: 2011 GOP debate at Dartmouth College, NH
, Oct 11, 2011
China doesn't want to have a trade war; so push hard
Q: Candidates have talked tough on China before--George W. Bush did it, Barack Obama did it--but once elected, the president takes a much more cautious approach.A: They have been played like a fiddle by the Chinese. And the Chinese are smiling all the
way to the bank, taking our currency and taking our jobs and taking a lot of our future. And I'm not willing to let that happen. We've got to call cheating for what it is.
Q: Isn't that risking a trade war?
A: Well, now, think about that. We buy this
much stuff from China; they buy that much stuff from us. You think they want to have a trade war? This is a time when we're being hollowed out by China that is artificially holding down their prices. On day one, I will issue an executive order identifyin
China as a currency manipulator. We'll bring an action against them in front of the WTO for manipulating their currency. If you're not willing to stand up to China, you'll get run over by China. And that's what's happened for 20 years.
Source: 2011 GOP debate at Dartmouth College, NH
, Oct 11, 2011
Trade is good for the nation, but not good for everybody
US companies faced with innovative and less costly products from overseas have to make one of two choices. They can invest in new technologies, innovations, and productivity improvements themselves and beat the foreign competition at its own game--a
process that often requires unions and suppliers to make adjustments.Alternatively, US companies can argue for protection, hold on as long as possible, and slowly watch their market share wane
The case for trade makes good economic sense--trade improves the wages and standard of living for the average citizen. But trade can disrupt and devastate those individuals directly affected. Owners and shareholders may lose money, of course.
But it is the employees and managers, from the shop floor to the drifting tables to delivery trucks, who take the brunt of the pain. Trade is good for the nation and for the average citizen, but it is decidedly not good for everybody.
Source: No Apology, by Mitt Romney, p.114-115
, Mar 2, 2010
Protectionism stifles productivity, under Bush AND Obama
When a country has artificially held down the value of its currency, we must act. Government should also act to stem dangerous foreign environmental policies and to block products produced by child labor. In some cases, an industry may request short-term
--VERY short-term--breathing room so that it can adjust to new competitive threat. Such requests should be granted only when it's clear that the affected American industry can and will act decisively to regain a truly competitive position.
But for every request for protection or subsidy that is warranted, a hundred or more others are not. The Bush administration's decision to protect the US steel industry is a case in point--I agree with those who have concluded that it did more harm than
good. Pres. Obama's action to defend American tire companies from foreign competition may make good politics by repaying unions for their support of his campaign, but it is decidedly bad for the nation and our workers. Protectionism stifles protectionism
Source: No Apology, by Mitt Romney, p.119
, Mar 2, 2010
Re-negotiate trade deals with China and other countries
I understand why jobs come and why jobs go. I’ve done business in over 20 countries around the world, and I understand how we can build more strength in our own economy and that’s by investing in education, investing in technology and innovation, getting
ourselves off of foreign oil, and making sure that the playing field we play on around the world is level. It’s not right now. We’re going to have to re-negotiate deals with people like those in
China that manipulate their currency to put their products in advantage over ours. We want to make sure that we do not have a circumstance where people close down their markets to our goods because we can compete anywhere in the world.
One out of three agricultural acres is planted to go off-shore, so don’t put up barriers to keep us from being able to trade. The US can compete anywhere in the world, and to remain a superpower, we must compete around the world.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
, Dec 12, 2007
Open up markets to American goods and services
Q: Are you a Bush Republican on trade?A: Well, I believe in trade, but I believe in opening up markets to American goods and services. And it’s been calculated that the average family in America is $9,000 a year richer because we have
the ability to sell products around the world, and a lot of people in this country make their living making products that go around the world. I want to make sure that the American worker gets a fair shake. We need to make sure that the
Chinese begin to float their currency, and they protect our designs and our patents and our technology. We need to make sure that the American workers don’t have to carry the burden of extra taxes as we sell our products around the world.
They come here without that tax embedded. We can do a better job, and I want to do a better job for the American worker.
Source: 2007 Republican debate in Dearborn, Michigan
, Oct 9, 2007
Businesspeople should negotiate trade, not politicians
The people who negotiate these agreements, the people who sit down with the Chinese and sit down with the Mexicans and others, are people, by and large, who’ve spent their life in politics, and the politicians come together and try and understand how the
economy works.I think I’m probably the only guy on the stage who’s spent most of his career in the business world. I understand how the economy works. I understand how if you make a certain adjustment in the agreement, it’s going to have a huge impact
on the United States.
And so for instance, if we agree to sit down with China, I understand that if we don’t get real careful and protect patents and designs and technology, intellectual property is going to get stolen by the Chinese. I recognize
we’re going to have to have people who understand how the business world works, how the economy works, and make sure that the playing field really is level by having people that understand the economy and the business world being part of that effort.
Source: 2007 Republican debate in Dearborn, Michigan
, Oct 9, 2007
Emergence of Asia is an opportunity for trade and commerce
To remain the economic and military superpower, America must address competing with Asia. China and Asia are on the move economically and technologically. They are a family oriented, educated, hard-working, and mercantile people. We must be ready and
able to compete. If America acts boldly and swiftly, the emergence of Asia will be an opportunity. Trade and commerce with these huge new economies can further strengthen our economy and propel our growth. If America fails to act, we will be eclipsed.
Source: PAC website, www.TheCommonwealthPac.com, “Meet Mitt”
, Dec 1, 2006
Page last updated: Nov 23, 2011