Support & Expand Free Trade (original) (raw)

VoteMatch Support & Expand Free Trade

POSITIONS

• Strongly Support means you believe: Free trade is always in the people's interest. We should have open trade with every country in the world. The government has no right to make restrictions on imports or exports. NAFTA, GATT, and the WTO should be expanded and made less restrictive over time. Globalization is good.
• Support means you believe: Free trade is in our national interest because it provides economic growth and jobs. We should only restrict free trade when it poses a security risk. Including environmental and labor safeguards are acceptable if they can be successfully negotiated into trade agreements, but should not be used as a pretext to stop trade agreements.
• Oppose means you believe: Free Trade should be replaced by Fair Trade. Free trade is not in our national interest when it poses a risk to job security, causes humanitarian problems overseas, or results in environmental damage. Globalization should focus on benefiting people instead of benefiting multinational corporations.
• Strongly Oppose means you believe: Americans should buy from other Americans because that creates American jobs. We should restrict trade with any country which costs us jobs or which creates a trade deficit. Globalization is just another means of corporate influence over our society.

This question is looking for your views on opening the US economy to the rest of the world. However you answer the above question would be similar to your response to these statements:

• Support NAFTA and trade with Mexico
• Support the WTO and GATT
• Expand free trade agreements to more countries
• A 'Global Economy' helps the US economy How do you decide between "Support" and "Strongly Support" when you agree with both the descriptions above? (Or between "Oppose" and "Strongly Oppose"). The strong positions are generally based on matters of PRINCIPLES where the regular support and oppose positions are based on PRACTICAL matters. If you answer "No Opinion," this question is not counted in the VoteMatch answers for any candidate. If you give a general answer of Support vs. Oppose, VoteMatch can more accurately match a candidate with your stand. Don't worry so much about getting the strength of your answer exactly refined, or to think too hard about the exact wording of the question -- like candidates!
• Strongly Support means you believe in the principle of open global trade.
• Support means you believe in practical improvements to increase international trade over time.
• Oppose means you believe practical restrictions on trade based on labor, environment, human rights, and national security.
• Strongly Oppose means you believe in the principle of "Buy American" and that international trade just ships jobs overseas.

BACKGROUND

International Trade Buzzwords

• NAFTA: refers to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which in 1994 established a free-trade zone between the US, Canada, and Mexico. NAFTA passed with some important compromises to protect the environment and labor standards. In 2001, President Bush formalized the proposal of expanding NAFTA to a Free Trade Area for the Americas (FTAA), encompassing 34 countries and 800 million people by 2005. Pres. Obama continues to push for expansion to CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement)
• WTO: refers to the World Trade Organization, an international organization intended to reduce trade barriers, formed in 1995. WTO members (which include China since 2001) charge minimal import tariffs on each other. The WTO adjudicates international disputes over trade barriers, such as currency manipulation.
• Currency Manipulation: The Republican primary contenders, especially Mitt Romney, accuse China of manipulating their currency. That means they maintain an artifically low exchange rate which makes Chinese goods relatively inexpensive for export. The result is that the US imports more goods from China, at lower cost for US consumers, but the manufacturing jobs are in China.
• Fast-Track: means authorizing the President to sign trade deals with a single yes-or-no Congressional vote after only limited debate. Supporting Fast-Track implies the speaker supports free trade.
• Fair Trade: means placing restrictions on imports based on environmental, labor, or other concerns. Supporting Fair Trade implies the speaker is against free trade.
• Trade Deficits: mean that the US imports more than we export to a particular country. Concern over trade deficits implies supporting trade restrictions against Mexico, Japan, and East Asia, with whom the US has large trade deficits.
  NAFTA
• The North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 establishes a free-trade zone between the US, Canada, and Mexico.
• A �free trade zone� means that goods can cross the border in either direction without tariffs or taxes of any kind.
• Canada is the largest trading partner of the US, accounting for over 25% of both our imports and exports.
• Mexico & Japan account for about 15% each; Europe combined for about 20%; and East Asia combined for about 15%.
• NAFTA passed with some important compromises to protect the environment and labor standards; these are refered to as �Side Agreements.�
• In 1994, President Clinton invited Chile to join NAFTA as the next step toward a Free Trade Zone for the Americas.
• In 2001, President Bush formalized the proposal of expanding NAFTA to a Free Trade Area for the Americas, encompassing 34 countries and 800 million people by 2005.
  GATT & WTO
• The World Trade Organization is an international organization intended to reduce trade barriers, formed in 1995.
• The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs is the international treaty which preceded the WTO's formation; it began in 1947.
• The �Uruguay Round� was the most recently completed round of GATT negotiations, completed in 1994.
• Negotiations to start a new �Round� took place in Seattle in Dec. 1999, but were disrupted by riots.
• WTO members (which includes the US and most industrialized countries) grant each other �MFN� or Most Favored Nation status, which means minimal import tariffs.
  Globalization
• �Globalization� refers generally to free trade, open borders, improved communication and transportation, and the commerce implications of the Internet.
• Specifically, anti-globalization advocates refer to the negative aspects of free trade on environmental and labor standards. At issue is that open borders cause corporations to seek out the lowest environmental and labor standards to minimize production costs, thereby pressuring for lower standards globally.
• Anti-globalization advocates primarily focus on the secrecy of WTO proceedings, but also criticize other international trade organizations as too favorable to corporate interests.
• Anti-globalization protests have been particularly effective since a large protest at a WTO meeting in Seattle in late 1999. The 2001 WTO meeting was held in Qatar (in the Persian Gulf) partially to make protest more difficult b its remoteness.
• While the anti-corporate aspect of anti-globalization is primarily a liberal cause, many conservatives join the anti-globalization movement on grounds of protection of national sovereignty. At issue is that the WTO and international trade agreements override national law, and hence place the US Congress and the US President subordinate to an unelected foreign organization.
  �Anti-Dumping Laws�
• Dumping: A country sells goods in the US at costs lower than they are sold in the home country, presumably with the intent of capturing market share.
• Countervailing Duties: The US imposes import tariffs -- often 100% or more -- on goods which the government determines have been dumped.
• In the last 4 years, the federal government found dumping in 107 cases, mostly steel from Asia but also on European bananas, and imposed countervailing duties.